The Champion of Clan Namikaze
by Orzza
Summary: Naruto has just found out that the Kyuubi was sealed in him at birth. Is it such a good idea that Hiruzen wants to call Jiraiya back to explain everything to Naruto and give him the inheritance left by his parents? NOTE: Naruto wasn't dropped on his head as a child i.e. he's not stupid. Rated M.
1. 1: Revelations

_**Author's Note: Okay guys this is my first time writing something at all really, like a lengthy story anyway. Love Naruto Fanfics specially Kenchi618s who was probably the main inspiration for me writing this at all. That and no one had updated in ages, and I was itching for some Naruto action! Anyway enough rambling. So pretense is that Naruto's parents left him a fair amount of stuff, money, a small clan compound, etc. Because you know his father was the Hokage, I always wondered why in the show nothing was ever said about inheritance. Naruto also isn't as obnoxious and dimwitted, so I'll say that he has his fathers smarts, rather than his mothers. He's still Naruto but a lot less thick. Anyway if I think of anything else to add I'll let you know :P and review, criticise and what not, it's the only way I'm going to get better :) My writing will most definitely improve over time I believe, and I'm not in any way japanese, so if I get stuff wrong just point it out in a review nicely if it's not too much trouble :P**_

_**ANOTHER NOTE (Added 3/12/2012): Will be changing the first few chapters slightly (not sure when but it will happen), only to fix up some problems and make it easier to read in some places. That being said until I do I urge you to give the rest a chance :) and if it's still not something you enjoy reading then that's fine, I can't please everyone :) ... I'll admit my first two chapters aren't my finest work bahahah :P**_

_**NOTE (Added 11/01/2013): Have been able to go through and revise a few things in the first two chapters, so you can disregard the above note. Also before you begin reading this story I just want to say that until I completely finish the tale I am treating this story kind of as an open beta. It is more than likely that once I finish and I have the time I'll go back and from the start revise chapters as I re-read it. This is clear up any inconsistencies that might form over the large amount of time it takes to finish and improve the flow and pacing so that it's easier to read from start to finish. Anyway enough rambling.**_

_**Enjoy**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 1: Revelations**

_Hokage's Office_

"I think it's about time you went and saw him Jiraiya." Sarutobi said to his former student as he looked out over Konoha.

"Are you sure he's ready? I mean he's already had one shock to the system, he doesn't need another."

"Actually I think that's exactly what he needs. He needs to know that someone other than myself is going to be there for him when things get tough, and with his life as a Jinchuuriki there's no doubt things are going to get much tougher, just look at all abuse he's taken from the village so far. He wants to be real ninja and earn the respect of the village, show him what it means to truly be a Ninja of Konoha Jiraiya, to carry the will of fire, sadly the people of this village haven't done much to set an example for the boy."

Jiraiya stood, rubbing the back of his monstrous white mane, thinking about what he was even going to say to the kid if he agreed.

"Do you really think he can handle it?"

"Jiraiya, as much as we want to protect him, he's about to go out and face the world as a genin, even as a genin things can go wrong. He needs every advantage we can give him, he needs his god-father, and he needs to know about his heritage. After this recent incident with Mizuki, I think he needs to know everything. We can't have this happen again, we, or more frankly, you need to prepare him. If you won't do it for me, do it for Minato."

_Looks like I don't have a choice_.

With that last sentence the Sandaime Hokage had put the final nail in Jiraiya's coffin, there was no way that Jiraiya could shirk his duty to Naruto any longer. The boy needed a father figure, even if Jiraiya wasn't always around.

"I knew I'd have to get around to telling him everything, I guess now is as good a time as any," Jiraiya said, resigned to the situation, "When you are ready to introduce me to the boy let me know. I'll be doing some 'research' in the meantime," both men sniggered despite the seriousness of the situation and with that Jiraiya jumped out of the window and disappeared, "Seeya old man!"

_Good, the boy needs to know he has someone other than Iruka or myself, hey wait! WHAT DID HE JUST CALL ME!_

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER!" he screamed out after one of the three Legendary Sannin.

xXx

Jiraiya quickly made his way through the village, roof hopping over to a small fence beside the natural springs to catch a quick glimpse at his afternoon delight, the ladies section. Oh they were al naturale, all as naked as the days that they were born and each of them gorgeous.

_Man it's good to be back in Konoha, the women don't disappoint!_ He though as a blush crept up his features and he sniggered while writing in a book, a gleeful expression on his face.

Little did Jiraiya know his sniggering had attracted the attention of a small boy who had been wandering the village, head down as he contemplated everything he had recently learnt about himself and the people of his hometown. He finally knew why everyone hated him, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

He looked up, wondering where the noise was coming from, and saw a largely built man squatting next to what appeared to be the boundary fence of the women's bath section of the hot springs. He had crazy white hair and was wearing a strange outfit.

_Pervert _Naruto thought as he watched the man snigger and write in his notebook. Picking up a rock he threw it at the man, hoping to distract him from his perverted activities. When it didn't seem to do anything he continued around the corner of a building and headed home.

Due to his rigorous and fantastic research, Jiraiya didn't bother turning straight away when he felt the rock hit him in the head; he was too busy getting an eyeful. By the time he had turned around all he saw was a small boy in an orange jumpsuit rounding a corner.

_Goddamn kid_ he thought. The rock had barely registered, and his annoyance was soon forgotten as he turned back to scene of a naked full chested woman giving her friend a back rub in the spring. _Ohhhh yeah, just like that_.

xXx

Naruto awoke the next morning to knocking at his door. He quickly jumped out of his pyjamas and into his orange jumpsuit, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he opened the door. He was greeted by Sarutobi and a strange man with waist length white hair and a hitai with the kanji for oil on it.

"Hey ojii-san," Naruto yawned, turning to the other man, "Hey, wait a minute, YOU'RE THAT PERVERT THAT WAS HANGING AROUND THE SPRINGS YESTERDAY!"

"AND YOU'RE THAT KID THAT THREW A ROCK AT ME, I MEAN COME ON, WHO DOES THAT!" Jiraiya replied just as heatedly upon seeing the orange jumpsuit and putting two and two together.

"PERVERT!" Naruto yelled.

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT! I'M A SUPER PERVERT!" Jiraiya exclaimed, sounding offended someone would underestimate his perverted nature.

"Weirdo." Naruto said while making a mental note that _that _move might be super handy with dealing with this guy.

Sarutobi could only stand there laughing.

"Okay Naruto calm down, I came to introduce you to this man, he knew your father and has a few things to tell you that I think you should know after your last escapade, which we know wasn't your fault." Sarutobi added to make sure Naruto didn't get too defensive.

This man knew his father? Sarutobi seemed pretty friendly with him too. Despite the man being a complete pervert Naruto was interested.

"So who are you?"

"This Naruto, is one of my former students, his name is Jira-"

"I am the almighty Toad Sage, the ferocious, the fearsome, the deadly, the magnificent Jiraiya of the Sannin!" He stopped dramatically every few words to change his pose as he went through his introduction. He cursed himself for the lack of room outside Naruto's apartment else he would have summoned one of his toads for dramatic effect.

Sarutobi and Naruto could only face-fault at the rather pointless introduction.

"Yes as I was saying Naruto, this is a former student of mine, Jiraiya. He is also your god father."

At this Naruto could only stand with his jaw dropped. His godfather was one of the three Legendary Sannin of Konoha? More importantly how was it that one of the Legendary Sannin and HIS godfather happened to be a massive pervert!

"Well I'm glad I could at least do the introduction, sort of, but I have things to do and it's likely that you two will want to get acquainted." Sarutobi said as he turned to leave.

"Hey wait, you're leaving me alone with 'the kid'/ 'ero-sennin' here!" Naruto and Jiraiya both exclaimed in unison. At that Sarutobi could only tilt his head back and roar with laughter at the two of them, _yes they'll get along fine_, he thought as he recomposed himself and began to stroll down the street, leaving the two alone.

"Hmph, well come in, you might be a massive pervert but apparently you are my god father, and have some things to tell me." Naruto said to Jiraiya.

"Well actually I thought we could take a walk, looks like you only just got up, bring your wallet, we should get something to eat before we sit down and have a chat."

"What? You're not paying!"

"Pfft, no kid that's what you're here for."

"Some god father you are," Naruto mumbled under his breath.

"Hey I heard that you little snot, now come on, let's go," he said as he walked a distance away, and stopped, turning back and waiting for Naruto to follow.

xXx

As much as Naruto begrudged paying for his food when he had what was as close to a guardian as he would ever have sitting next to him, the ramen he was downing certainly cheered him up.

"Alright kid, let's go for a walk, then I'll tell you everything that you need to know. Okay?"

"Okay," Naruto said as he finished up his meal and they stood, the small orange clad boy walking out of the village with his strange god father.

As much as he thought the man was strange, it was nice having someone to just walk with that wasn't Iruka.

xXx

The spot they had chosen was one of the training grounds for beginner genin, it was peaceful and quiet and they both sat beneath a large tree, sheltering them from the heat of the mid-morning sun.

"Alright kid, I have to warn you that you may not like what I'm about to tell you, but you need to know. You need to grow as a shinobi and a man, and some of this might be a shock to your system but I think it's best if you know now. You know who the Yondaime Hokage is right?"

"Yeah, he was the last Hokage, and he saved the village by sealing this monster inside of me. And since then everybody has hated me! Why do I need to know who he is! He made my life miserable." Naruto could see where this was going, and his anguish was already showing on his face.

"Naruto, he wasn't the only person who saved the village that night. You saved the village. By having the Kyubbi sealed inside of you, you prevented the destruction of the village. The people of this village should see you as their saviour. But they are afraid of you. Fear rules their hearts and they can't see you for you who really are. All they see is the fox that went on a rampage. For that I'm sorry, and for that I bet your father is sorry too. He did the only thing he could to save the village in sealing the kyuubi into you kid. Your father was the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze.

"But WHY WOULD HE DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO ME! HIS OWN SON!" Naruto asked as he looked up, tears streaming down his face at what he was learning.

"Because he knew that one day you would make him proud. That you would bear the burden he placed on you and become a saviour of the village. It seemed he had confidence that you, the saviour of the village would grow up to do great things and people wouldn't know you for what is sealed inside you, but for who you really are." Naruto broke down as he came to terms with why he had such a hard childhood. All Jiraiya could do was sit and wait for the kid to calm down.

"Kid, I was once told a prophecy that one day I would have a student and a decision that I made would mean the difference between that person bringing peace to the shinobi world, or casting it into darkness forever. For a while I thought that would be your father. But now I think that your Father always thought that it would be you, his son. I know it's hard, but you have to understand that your father loved you, and he wouldn't have done something like this unless he truly believed in you. Your father believed that you would become a great shinobi, he had faith in you before you were even born kid."

"BUT I'M NOT A GREAT SHINOBI! MY FATHER PUT ME THROUGH HELL!" Naruto was on the verge of losing it. To find out that your father was the Yondaime Hokage would have been fantastic, if it didn't mean that all the pain and misery you'd suffered your whole life was because of him.

"Your dad believed in you Naruto, he believed that whatever hardships you face, you'd overcome them, and I believe that you will. Great shinobi aren't made overnight. You have a lot of hard work cut out for you, but I believe you can make your dad proud."

"WHY? HE WAS MY DAD! HE WAS MY DAD!" as Naruto screamed, breaking down, Jiraiya pulled the young kid who'd already had to suffer so much into a hug.

"He had to save the village, and you were the one he chose to carry his dream of peace into the future, his own son. And I'm sorry too kid," Jiraiya muttered when Naruto had stopped the worst of his outpour.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Naruto asked, leaning back and wiping tears from his face. He understood what his father had done to save the village, but it didn't make it any easier for Naruto, and it didn't make him any less angry at him or hurt that he would do such a thing.

"Because I've heard how hard it's been for you, and I should have been there for you too, Minato was like a son to me, and I should have been there for his son. I've been busy working for Konoha gathering intelligence, but it didn't mean I shouldn't have been there for you too when I could." Jiraiya said while Naruto gave him a weary punch to the side, "Yeah I know kid, I'm sorry. But I'm here now. I won't be here all the time for you, but when I am you'll know about it. I'm gonna turn you into a shinobi who inspires courage in comrades and instills fear in enemies. Got it!" This got a slight nod from the still very upset Naruto, "good, now anything else you'd like to know."

"What was my mother like?" he asked meekly.

"Hah, Kushina Uzumaki, the red devil. Man that woman was feisty, but she was also a beautiful, caring, loving woman, and I wouldn't have had Minato with anybody else Naruto. Both your parents were amazing people Naruto and they cared about you immensely, as hard as it might be to believe. Meet me here tomorrow morning if you want to start your training with me. Okay?"

"We'll see," Naruto said as he got up and walked home, not sure how to feel.

_Well sensei, this is either going to make or break him, we can only hope for the best now._

xXx

That night Naruto lay awake in bed, hundreds of thoughts crossing his mind. After everything he'd learnt about the creature that was inside of him and who sealed it inside of him he was angry. But he couldn't stay angry, he knew that. From what the villagers had always said of the Yondaime, his father had done everything he could to save the village. _I guess I was his last resort huh_. Well it didn't matter now. _All I can do is progress forward. I have to become a great shinobi so that everyone in the village understands that I'll protect them like my father did, and I'll be respected. I'll be Hokage one day. And the only way I'm going to do that is through hard work. Not staying angry at my past._ He was relieved though. For so long he'd never known, and now he did. It felt like a part of him had been completed, that uncertainty gone now that he knew who his parents were and that he had a god father that cared about him, _even if he is a pervert_. And with a final thought about how he had one more person that was going to look out for him when things got tough the Jinchuuriki of Konoha went to sleep with a smile on his face.

xXx

_Good at least he came, that's a start_ Jiraiya thought as he watched Naruto walk over to him from the opposite side of the field.

"How about you test your skills against this old man huh? I need to find out exactly what I'm working with if I'm going to turn you into a master shinobi, they told me you didn't too well in the academy, but that can't be right, not about someone like you can it?" Jiraiya said to Naruto after the kid arrived at the training ground, trying to fire Naruto back up after yesterday. He could see the fight creep back up into the kid's eyes as his resolve steeled.

"No, they've got it dead wrong, I'm going to be Hokage, Dattebayo!," Naruto replied with a smile, and with that he jumped up, the spar already taking his mind off of the angering revelations for now.

"Good, well let's see just what you've got, I want to see if you can hit me. When you can hit me once, I'll teach you an A ranked secret ninjutsu that only I know how to do. How does that sound?"

"You've got it ero-sennin, be prepared to cough up a secret technique." And with that Naruto crossed his fingers in a seal and shouted, "**Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu)," creating over 150 clones; Jiraiya found himself in a sea of orange.

"Well would you look at that, huh, well COME GET SOME!" The legendary toad sage shouted in challenge at the crowd of Narutos.

20 Narutos charged in at Jiraiya as he stood in the middle of the clones. They were attacking from all sides, Naruto smirked, _getting a new technique is going to be easy_. He obviously didn't know what it meant to be a Sannin.

Jiraiya lashed out at the first clone to approach him with a hard right, dispelling it, while simultaneously dropping into a crouch and following with a low sweep that knocked the legs out from beneath a bunch of clones dispelling four more. In a flurry of taijutsu the remaining fifteen clones were destroyed by horrifically powerful blows.

_Well crap _Naruto thought. All he could do was stand and watch as his clones futilely attacked the legendary shinobi, getting cut down by vicious strikes. Standing and watching as Jiraiya cut through the numerous Narutos the original had an idea. It was a long shot and he had no idea if it was going to work. First he needed to test this guy's defences and for that he needed a better assault. He started coordinating groups of clones to attack from certain angles while others converged on Jiraiya from opposing sides, attempting to catch him off guard.

It didn't matter though, no matter what angle he attacked from or how many clones he used they were all cut down. Even when it looked like Jiraiya was about to be overwhelmed he simply performed a jutsu that caused him to be surrounded by his hair. HIS HAIR! It then proceeded to turn razor sharp and cause all of the attacking clones to be destroyed. Naruto was starting to see why this guy was a Sannin.

It didn't even look like he was trying. I mean sure, Naruto understood that he wasn't much of a challenge to any shinobi yet, but the sheer numbers he was throwing at this guy should have fazed him a little bit, shouldn't it? He had to learn that technique to become stronger. He had to gain respect from the village.

Naruto made a clone to stand in his place and rushed in with a group of clones attacking the Sannin, his hair now receded. Jiraiya was shredding the clones and Naruto could only wonder what those punches and kicks felt like. He got right up next to Jiraiya only for him to lash out with an incredibly fast punch. Naruto was ready, he shifted slightly to the side as he tried to step past the punch, but it clipped him in the shoulder. The force was enough that it would have wiped out a clone and Naruto cried out with tears in his eyes from the pain. He desperately tried to lash out with a punch that would land, but Jiraiya smiled and quickly followed up with a second punch that launched Naruto out of the fray, slamming into a nearby tree. Darkness enveloped his senses as a he fell unconscious.

xXx

When Naruto came too it looked like it was mid-afternoon. Had it been that long already?

"Ahh kid, hah, I see you've woken up." Jiraiya said as he offered the boy what looked to be an ice-block.

"That hit, damn. You are so strong, and you want to train me? Thanks," he said as he took the iced treat.

"Hahahaha you've got spirit, and you've got guts, what were you thinking trying to attack yourself?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well I noticed that you were attacking my clones and it seemed that after a while you got so used to them being clones that you never bothered to check whether or not they dispelled."

_Good_, _the kid's observant_.

"Hahahaha, well you were good to pick up on that. I decided to make it look that way to see if you'd pick up on it, and to see how you'd react. I liked that you noticed, but your plan of attack was a bit brash. How are you feeling?"

"A bit sore, but overall I'm fine," Naruto said as he rolled out his left arm, and then his right, switching the hand holding the ice-block.

"You're pretty durable kid to take a hit like that, and those chakra reserves, geez, no wonder you could never do a regular bunshin, you have way too much chakra. Probably thanks to your resident fox. Kage Bunshin are better than regular bunshin anyway. Do you know why? Not only are they solid, but have you noticed a special trait they have."

"Hmmm I haven't been using them that long. But the more I fought you the more I understood about how you fought. Understanding that wasn't coming straight from me looking at them get demolished. So I'd say that whatever they learn or see, when they get dispelled their knowledge gets passed to me?"

"Bingo kid. Here let's do a demonstration, make a clone." Jiraiya said, and with a poof a perfect copy of Naruto was now standing next to him. "Okay, get that clone to stand behind me and look at my hand," He said as he put a hand behind his back and Naruto's clone followed the instruction. "Now tell me how many fingers I'm holding up."

Naruto's clone looked down at Jiraiya's hand as they both sat eating ice-blocks and dispelled.

"3," Naruto said after a flash of memories returned to him, "Wow that was cool, I guess I never noticed during the rush of battle."

"Now what can you use this to help you with Naruto?" Jiraiya asked seriously.

"Hmmmm, training, oh wow, I'm gonna be awesome in no time with the amount of clones I can make! Dattebayo!"

"Hahahaha calm down kid, it is true that you can accelerate your training, but you need to have something to train at first."

"Right, so are you going to teach me anything?" Naruto asked eagerly.

_Man is this what it is like to have a clan, to have someone to teach you? It's great! I'm going to catch up to all the others in no time_!

"For now, no," Naruto's heart sank, "Haha get that stupid look off your face kid, of course I'm going to teach you, but for now I want you to work on some basics."

"What like in the academy! Man not that stuff," Naruto said crestfallen.

"Naruto let me finish. I want to teach you some basic chakra manipulation, and I want you to practice on your taijutsu, because that is what can be a life saver in fights. Of course as you get better I'll teach you more and more, but I also want you teaching yourself. Go to the library when you can and pick up some scrolls. You have a headband now so you can visit the low level restricted section being a graduate of the academy. Go in there and try and find some scrolls on anything about the shinobi art that interests you. You might even find some scrolls on your taijutsu technique. It's great to be versatile and a brawler, it can really throw an opponent off. But there are times when you need the power and precision of a real taijutsu form, got it kid?"

"Hai, ero-sennin,"

"Hahahaha righto you little snot, anyway if you keep up training with those clones of yours and keep at it, you'll be great in no time. You have stupid amounts of chakra; use it to your advantage with these clones. Now what I want to teach you today is wall walking."

"Say what?"

"Wall walking is the when you use chakra manipulation to stick to surfaces, there are other applications for using chakra to stick to things, but most people use it on their feet and hands to stick to walls or stand on water, here like this," Jiraiya explained as stood up and walked over to the nearest tree, walking straight up the side.

"WOW! That's so cool, if only I knew how to do that when I was painting the Hokage monument!" Jiraiya just laughed at that.

"What you want to do Naruto is focus your chakra to your feet in an even layer and use that to stick to the tree. You have a lot of chakra so the chakra control won't be as easy for you, but with those clones you should get it in no time. Now you have a go. Try to do it without using seals to focus your chakra; you'll get a better hang for it that way."

"Okay, '**Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu)**'" **100 clones sprang into existence all with wall walking on their minds. They all sprinted up the nearest unoccupied tree attempting to use their chakra to stick while the original just stood and watched. Every single clone fell to the ground, dispelling on impact. The influx of memories dazed the young shinobi a little, not quite used to having 100 memories enter his mind at once, but it didn't deter him from trying again. This time he created only twenty, and had each of them run up the tree. They made it slightly further before losing control and falling. Determined to succeed Naruto tried again and again, ann within an hour they made it. He had gleaned enough of the technique from the previous waves that all of them were now standing perpendicular to the bark on the trees in the training ground. The look on his face was priceless. Jiraiya himself was proud of the kid.

"Hell Naruto, I'm going to be teaching you a lot if you learn that fast!" Jiraiya said in praise.

"Damn straight ero-sennin, Dattebayo!"

"Hahahaha okay you little snot let's get out of here, it's getting late and I've got stuff to do."

As they were walking back to Naruto's apartment Jiraiya turned to Naruto, "Hey kid, I'll be heading away for about a week so keep up the training and get better with that chakra manipulation. I want you to start using it whenever it's convenient to stick to anything with any part of your body got it? That kind of manipulation can come in very useful in fights. Try a bit of water walking if you feel up to it. It's a more advanced technique that's a little harder. If you manage to do that and all of your other stuff practice your taijutsu while water walking and wall walking. In no time you'll be a master of the stuff."

"Hai ero-sennin" Naruto was already keen to start his training. He couldn't wait to get down all these new techniques he was going to learn.

"Okay good, now I'll see you next week back at that training ground," And without so much as a sound Naruto's god father was gone, and Naruto was left to walk home in silence.

xXx

After getting up and eating some instant ramen Naruto was about to head out when he heard a knock at the door. Opening it he found once again the Sandaime Hokage standing in front of him, a genuine smile on his face as he looked at Naruto.

"Hey ojii-san," Naruto said before the old man could get anything out, "You could have told me about my parents, but I guess you didn't know how I'd react. Thanks for introducing me to ero-sennin, as pervy as he is he's a really great guy, he even taught me some cool stuff!"

"That's great Naruto," the relief and happiness spread across his face at how well Naruto was taking everything now, "Now that you know who your parents are I think it's about time you moved house. How would you like to live in your parents' old place, it is after all, rightfully yours."

"I'd love it!" Naruto said his eyes lighting up as he rushed out of the house to follow Sarutobi.

xXx

They walked through the city for some time, heading over to where the major clan compounds were, passing the Uchiha, Hyuuga, and Nara compounds. They reached the end of a small street, walked through a small gate and Naruto was granted with an amazing sight.

"This Naruto is the Namikaze compound. It's been deserted since the unfortunate passing of your parents but now that you know your heritage you are free to live in here. I'm sure there are still belongings sitting in that building ready to be yours, no one has yet been able to get in, but I have a feeling you'll be fine. As for money, your father was a stickler for seals. I guess anything of value is kept in summoning scrolls and I bet that they'll only open for you. Any food that was in there would be rotten and it's probably incredibly dusty, so you might want to go shopping. You also might want to think about getting some new clothes if you want to be taken seriously as a shinobi Naruto, orange might be a great colour for grabbing attention, but attention isn't what you want from your enemies. Anyway I'm glad I could finally give you this place, I'll see you around." The Hokage went to leave before turning around, "And one more thing,"

"Yeah jiji?"

"Try not to let too many people know your heritage. It may be hard now that you live here, but not many people come around this way, so you should be fine."

"But why wouldn't I want people to know my dad was the Hokage? They might respect me then?"

"Your father had a lot of enemies Naruto. For now, until you get stronger it would be best if people didn't know. Maybe when you get a genin team you can tell them, if you really must, but keep the information to yourself for now okay?"

"Okay." The boy smiled, "thanks Ojii-san," Naruto said, tears coming to his eyes. Looking back to the house for a second before turning back he found the Hokage had already used **Shunshin no Jutsu **(Body Flicker Technique) and was nowhere to be seen, "Man I need to learn how to use that."

The compound wasn't nearly as large as any of the other clan compounds, as there had only been his father and his mother. But it was still beautiful, if a little overgrown. There was a main building in the centre of the rectangular compound that was 3 stories tall, it was ringed by balconies on each floor and had a pointed shingled roof. Being the only building in the compound Naruto assumed that this would now be his house; the house that his parents had lived in. What amazed him though was the surrounding woodland. The compound wasn't huge by any means but with the house being only building the amount of woodland that surrounded it was awesome. There were gardens and ponds, trees and hedges, everything was overgrown but it was still great! There were even dirt areas that were now covered in weeds that were obviously training grounds with their wooden dummies having fallen apart. It needed a lot of work but that's what shadow clones were for; he didn't envy his copies.

He walked up to the main entrance and tried to get inside. The door wouldn't budge. There didn't seem to be any obvious way to get in. _Well this is great, why would ojii-san give me a house I can't get into_. As he turned around and sat down on the ground to think he let his head fall back and hit the door. A thin cloud of dust fell from the painted surface. Looking up he could see what appeared to be the faint outline of a seal underneath the dust on the door. He walked up to it and did the only thing he could think of. He applied a small amount of chakra to the seal. It flashed and the door swung open.

There were a tonne of rooms in the house and he could just imagine what it would be like living here all his life. The thought brought tears to his eyes, as he thought about the life that could have been, had the attack on Konoha never come.

Naruto explored the first floor. The house was large, but it didn't feel too big or empty. It did however feel old, but Naruto just put that down to the extreme amount of dust. The first floor contained a main living area, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. Most of the floor was dominated by the living area that joined straight onto the kitchen. The Dining room was tucked away, and although still large looked like it was only used for special occasions.

The second floor had a few rooms, a study, armoury, bathroom and a guest bedroom. The two most noticeable rooms were the study and the small armoury. The armoury was no doubt small because of his father's notable use of seals, and he likely stored his equipment in the numerous scrolls his Father had stored in a chest sitting flush against the far wall. Naruto tried opening a scroll but it was sealed shut. He couldn't even unroll one of them. They had the strange seal that was on the front door sitting on the seam of the scroll. Applying a small amount chakra to the seal, it flashed, and the scroll unlocked. Opening it up, it had a number of storage arrays on it. Each had a different word written underneath, whether it was shuriken, kunai, hiraishin or a number of others. He didn't know what a hiraishin was, but he'd look into that later. For now he placed his hand on the shuriken one and channelled a small amount of chakra again. In a puff of smoke, a small pile of shuriken appeared on the scroll in front of him, all in perfect condition. _Huh I guess things don't rust in a storage scroll_, _this is great, I have my own freaking arsenal! Dattebayo! I can go through all of this stuff later, I should keep exploring the house._

Naruto went into the study to find an extravagant room with a large desk, no doubt used by his father when writing out seals. There was an ink pot filled with dry ink and a few brushes. The walls of the room were covered in bookshelves with each and every one of them covered in books. They were dusty, but over the years no one had stolen them, they couldn't have, and they didn't look damaged.

Naruto ran a finger over a few books as they sat on the shelf. _Maybe I can learn some new techniques from my parents'_ _collections._

He'd have a look later; or rather he'd get some clones to go through them.

Excited to finish exploring the house Naruto continued up to the final floor. He went through a number of rooms; mainly a bunch of bedrooms. He opened one door and couldn't help but fall to the floor as he went weak in the knees.

It was his room. It had been set up as a nursery. All Naruto could do was sit and cry as he thought about the life he could have had in this room; the memories that might have been. He got up after a while, he didn't know how long had passed, and walked over to the crib, his crib. The crib his parents had made for him in the room that his parents had made for him, it was perfect. It was all he could do not to break down again as he stood there looking around that room. After a time standing and looking out the window that looked onto the beautiful yet currently overgrown grounds he turned and left, closing the door on the life he never had.

The final room was one that he figured was the master bedroom, it also had a massive seal in the centre of it, and he pulsed some of his chakra through it in order to open the door. Inside was a massive room, with a giant four poster against the wall opposite the door. It was a gorgeous bed, hell the whole room looked magnificent. In the centre of the room was a giant rug over a hard wood floor, two small dressers sat on each side of the bed, and over on the left side of the room was what looked to be a walk in wardrobe. An ensuite opened onto both the bedroom and the wardrobe, while a large couch, coffee table and another bookshelf sat to the right of the bed, before doors opened onto the balcony.

Naruto walked over to the dresser and saw something that sent pangs of pain through his chest once again. There was a picture of his father and mother. His mother was clearly pregnant, and they were both smiling happily at whoever was taking the photo, his father with his hand on his mother's stomach. He couldn't stay angry at his father. All the resentment melted away, after seeing this house, his room, and now this photo, Naruto knew what kind of man his father was. The fact that he had to seal the kyuubi into Naruto to save the village obviously meant it was a last resort and even though Naruto had suffered for it, he couldn't stay angry, not at this man, smiling so happily in this photo of his family.

As Naruto sat down on the bed and stared at the beautiful picture of his parents a single tear fell from his face and landed on the photo.

"I'll make you proud mum and dad. Wherever you are, I'll make you proud."


	2. 2: Minato's Legacy

**Author's Note: Just uploading this with the first chapter kthxbai.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 2: Minato's Legacy**

_Namikaze Clan Building (Naruto's Home), Konoha_

After sitting for a while to pull himself together Naruto got up and walked over to the wardrobe. He looked through the clothing only to find that not only was everything too big for him but everything was starting to get holes in it._ Looks like I'll have to go and buy some clothes._ There was a chest in the wardrobe that contained a number of scrolls. _Maybe they contain some clothes, better yet, some money would be nice._

Upon unsealing one scroll he found it to contain a number of storage arrays each with a different number underneath. Naruto activated the one with 100 written on it and his jaw dropped. He'd never seen so much money in his life. Sitting in front of him, for his own use, was 100000 ryo. That wasn't even the half of it though. There were even larger numbers written on the array. He could only imagine how much money his father earned as an S ranked shinobi and the Hokage.

Guess he'd have no trouble going shopping now. Picking up 10000 ryo and sealing away the rest Naruto made his way downstairs. Standing on the doorstep of his new home Naruto created 200 clones.

"Alright guys listen up, we've got a lot of work to do today so here's the plan! I need 20 of you to go and sift through the books in the library, I need you to find out what useful information is hidden in those books got it! 10 of you should go through the scrolls in the armoury and take an inventory; I need to know exactly what I have. 40 of you go and find a pond, get to work on practicing water walking. Another 30 get to working on cleaning this house; I want 10 to a floor. Use the top half of your jumpsuits as rags if you have to. The rest of you get to work on weeding that training ground. When you finish go start tidying up around the place. Anyone who finishes their job before I get back goes and practices water walking. When you've water walked for 5 minutes straight without falling in you can dispel, got it everyone?"

"GOT IT!" his clones chorused back to him and they ran off to do their respective duties. With that sorted Naruto began making his way into the shopping district of town. He had money, now all he needed was a shop that wouldn't kick him out on sight.

There were all sorts of shops open at this time of the day, flower shops, clothing shops, weapons shops, shops that sold all sorts of bits and pieces. He didn't know which one he'd try first. All he knew was that whatever he did, at the end of the day, ramen was on the menu.

The first shop that he knew sold ninja gear he had no luck with. He hadn't taken more than two steps when the owner shouted at him to leave, calling him a nuisance. _I'll show him who's a nuisance_ Naruto thought to himself as he walked down the street to another shop. The banner over the top of the door read 'Mikoto Shinobi Supplies'. _Well this looks like as good a place as any I guess_ Naruto thought, hoping this time to not get kicked out straight away.

The man standing behind the counter was of an average height and build with brown hair that was beginning to grey, and friendly brown eyes. He was wearing a black coat over what looked to be a smith's apron and a plain brown jumpsuit. The man knew who the small boy was that walked through the front door. Everyone in the village did. But there was something different about him today, he was carrying himself with much more confidence than usual, real confidence, not the false confidence everybody was so used to. He knew he'd get no trouble from the kid who was no stranger to being treated badly.

"Hey kid, what can I do for you today?" Hideki asked, before the boy could get too lost in his shop.

"Well I was looking to get some clothes actually. I think I have most of the other supplies I need for now, but I'm in sorry need of a new wardrobe, I can't keep wearing this orange jumpsuit if I want people to take me seriously can I?"

At that they both chuckled.

"No you can't, and I'm sure I can set you up with a new wardrobe, now come with me, and we'll get you fitted."

_Wow! He didn't kick me out straight away, this is great!_

"My name is Hideki Mikoto, what's yours?" he asked out of politeness.

"Well my name is Naruto Uzumaki, this is a nice shop you have, do you make all the tools and weapons?" Naruto said, making sure not to reveal who his father was just yet. He'd also noticed the man had a blacksmiths apron on with tools hanging out.

"Hahaha, well spotted. Yes most of these tools I make myself, some of the more expensive and hard to get items I've found or imported."

"Cool!" Naruto said smiling at the friendly shopkeep, "I'll be sure to stop by whenever I need some more supplies then."

"Hahahaha you do that kid."

_At least someone is friendly around here._

By the time they had finished shopping Naruto had a brand new kit. Instead of his blue sandals he now wore black boots that came up to just below the top of his shins. Replacing his orange jumpsuit he wore a pair of black cargo pants with a number of pockets running down the sides, a mesh undershirt and a long sleeved dark blue top. As he was fiddling with his hitai he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Walking over to it he found an overcoat that had a number of pockets in it. It was the same style as the one he'd seen his father wearing in the photo, with short sleeves and only coming down to just past his knees. Instead of being white with flames however this one was a dark red, almost the colour of his mother's hair from what the picture had shown. He picked it up and walked everything back over to the counter with Hideki. Not only did he buy that outfit but he made sure to buy some extras so he didn't have to don his jumpsuit again. As much as he loved it, he had to admit it wasn't practical.

He asked Hideki for some spare blue cloth, attaching it to his hitai as he tied it around his waist, closing the overcoat. He let his goggles hang around his neck. He had decided to keep them because they were incredibly practical, a shinobi couldn't fight if he had dust or gas in his eyes.

"This is a lot of stuff Naruto," Hideki said as he counted through all the items of clothing, "Are you sure you have enough money kid. I can give you a slight discount but I'm not sure if it'll be enough."

"Hahahaha how much will it be Hideki-san?" Naruto asked politely, reaching into one of the pockets of his new outfit.

"With all these spare clothes and that coat it comes to 6000 ryo."

"Well it was only to be expected, I did kind of buy a lot of high quality clothing, here you go," Naruto said with a smile as he handed over the money and snatched up all the clothes.

Hideki was surprised that the kid was willing to hand over that much cash so easily.

"Wait, Naruto, take this, it'll save you carrying everything." Hideki said as he handed Naruto a storage scroll, watching as the young man sealed in his new haul.

"Arigato Hideki-san." Naruto said as he waved over his shoulder at the kind shopkeeper as he left.

"Who was that chichi?" A pretty girl with black hair in buns, and beautiful brown, almost black eyes asked from the back door of the shop.

"That was Uzumaki Naruto Tenten, it looks like he's finally getting his act together." Hideki added under his breath with a smile.

"From the looks of it he just graduated, you guys might end up training together sometime. Next time he comes in say hello." Hideki said cheerfully.

"Yeah, maybe," Tenten replied before turning and heading back into the workshop.

xXx

Naruto felt like a new man strolling through the street. Even the people hardly recognised him. His orange jumpsuit that was once his main identifier now gone, the only thing people had to go by was the blonde hair, the whisker marks and the massive grin. He felt confident, like he could do anything. And that's exactly what he was going to do. They had been told that in a month they would be sorted into genin teams, so Naruto had a month to prepare. A month, in which with his clone technique he'd be able to make up any lost ground and then some. He was going to be Hokage, and with his drive, and the teachings of Jiraiya he was sure he would make it.

He quickly stopped by a grocers to pick up some food, storing them in the scroll so he didn't have to carry anything, and headed out to get some food.

He was sitting at Ichiraku Ramen downing his favourite meal, after having been complimented by Ayame on his new attire, when memories started flooding back to him. Memories of clones standing for 5 minutes on the surface of a pond, memories of the sheer number and variety of shinobi weapons he now had available, and the amount of knowledge stored in his father's study. There were handwritten scrolls on sealing, covered in notes and diagrams, no doubt written by one of his parents. There were technique scrolls that his father must have collected over time. The whole place was a treasure trove of information.

He quickly finished his ramen, paid, and thanked Teuchi and Ayame for the delicious meal. Heading home to begin diving through what his parents had left him he began sprinting through the streets as fast as he could. On the way back he stopped by his old place to pick up any spare clothes that he might need, like pyjamas, and a few cups of his instant ramen.

Getting back to his new place, he stopped, looking up at his home. In the few hours that we was gone his clones had really gotten to work. The forest was still overgrown, but that would provide a challenge. The training field had been weeded and they'd even fixed up some of the training dummies as best they could. The outside of the house was now clean again, and all the cobwebs were nowhere to be found. There were no more clones over at the pond, all of them having dispelled themselves after 5 minutes of standing on the water. He went inside and was amazed at the transformation.

_Kami I'm good, he thought to himself, well my clones are anyway._

The place was now spotless. He went into the kitchen and packed all his groceries away before heading upstairs to the library. A number of his clones were still sifting through the sheer number of scrolls and books that were in the room.

"Here boss, we found this really interesting scroll," one of his clones said to him as he passed him an unlocked scroll, "It had that strange chakra seal on it so we thought it was important."

After having seen the scroll of forbidden techniques Naruto knew what a technique scroll was when he saw one.

This looked like the initial design though. Maybe it was one that his father had invented?

Naruto looked to the top of the scroll and saw the words '**Hiraishin no Jutsu **(Flying Thunder God Technique'.

_Hmmmm I wonder what it does._

He didn't have any information from his clones yet, because he gave them the task of sorting what scrolls and books were what. They hadn't actually read too much into them. But as he scanned down the scroll, looking over the scratchings and brushstokes that littered the page his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"No way," he said under his breath, "No freaking way, a space-time ninjutsu."

Detailed on the scroll in front of him were the design steps, and workings, described in intricate detail, of a teleportation jutsu. It looked incredibly complicated, but he needed to try and learn it. He had to work it out, and with the help of his clones, he would. The technique spoke of using seals as markers for the technique, and that the user could teleport to any seal at will, once they knew how to control the technique.

_I guess that'd be the hard part, not over shooting the marker and ending trapped inside an object._

The seals could be on anything. There was even a section detailing how to attach a seal to an opponent mid combat. It also detailed that special Hiraishin Kunai could also be used. Boy was Naruto glad that his father wrote down everything when working. This was amazing, Naruto had in his hands the workings to an amazing jutsu, he doubted anyone else even knew about this scroll, else they would have tried to get their hands on it. Walking into the armory, Naruto could see a number of clones still sorting through the arsenal contained within the scrolls. He walked over to a funny looking pile of kunai.

_So these must be those special kunai, I can see where the seal is._

Most of the kunai still had the seals written on them. He looked at the complex seal and whistled. He had no understanding of what any of it meant. If it weren't for the writings in the other room he wouldn't have even known what the kunai was used for. He had a lot of reading to catch up on. He guessed that with just this kunai and all the sealing readings, minus the scroll his father had written, it still would have taken him decades to understand and execute the jutsu. Man he really needed to read up on jutsu theory if he was going to become a master shinobi.

_Thank kami you liked to write while working chichi._

Over the next week Naruto left a number of clones in his library reading up on everything they could about seals, sealing and the hiraishin jutsu. He also had a few others scouring for any scrolls on taijutsu technique and other ninjutsu. All the while Naruto was conditioning himself. Whenever he wasn't running laps around the compound or doing strength exercises he was brawling a number of his clones while standing on the water or fighting upside down under a tree branch. Every time he cleared a wave, another would come at him. While he was brawling one group, he had other groups spread out all over the compound all fighting in a free for all. There were always a number of clones set aside throwing shuriken, kunai and hiraishin kunai at the practice dummies.

When he started to see that his lap times of the compound weren't improving as fast as they used to he started to weigh himself down with rocks and did the run carrying a small boulder. Needless to say his times dropped. But they slowly came back up. With his incredible recovery times, nearly limitless chakra, and hundreds of clones he was progressing faster than he ever thought possible. He did make a note that carrying boulders was a pain and that he needed to work out how to put a weight seal on his coat.

xXx

On the final day before Jiraiya was set to return he decided to try his father's technique. He figured that he had enough of an understanding after poring over the scroll, and the scrolls on seals and sealing in the library that he could attempt the jutsu. By no means did he have a masterful understanding of the technique or sealing, but you had to run before you could walk right? He still had clones going through the library, he didn't think that'd stop until every last drop of knowledge had been obtained from the place, but today he was outside creating clones to attempt the technique.

He had ten clones all attempting to teleport to a separate kunai. He spent the entire day following the instructions on the scroll and it wasn't pretty. Naruto could already see the dangers of the technique, and that's why he was having clones perform it for practice. Many of them ended up teleporting into the ground, trees, some even ended up falling from the sky to their deaths. This technique required precise chakra control. Something that Naruto was still working on. As the sun began to set he wasn't at the point where he could teleport to a kunai yet. He was getting there, but the clones were still getting dispelled from failed attempts. He wouldn't try it himself until he knew for sure he could do it perfectly.

He was surprised his dad managed to work it out and then perform it. What if he'd died attempting it for the first time? His already massive respect for his father skyrocketed after attempting this technique, even with his understanding from the scroll and the numerous shadow clones he couldn't get it quite right. He also still wasn't sure how he was going to attach seals to enemies when in combat. The scroll mentioned something about creating flexible seals out of chakra that would stick to enemies, but Naruto still didn't have much of an idea of what to do.

He had so much more to learn, but for now he wanted to get down teleporting to a kunai. And so he trained into the night, generating clone after clone as they all made more refined attempts at teleporting to a kunai. It was just after midnight when he succeeded. First it was one clone in a wave that succeeded. The next had five. It wasn't long before every single wave of clones was succeeding.

It was time for the original to have a shot. He focused his chakra and intent on the kunai acting as a beacon to the location he wanted to teleport to and performed the necessary internal chakra manipulations detailed in the scroll. Next thing he realised he was standing right next to the kunai, the feeling of sickness his clones had experienced through his clones washed over him. He figured that he'd be used to the technique in no time and the sickening feeling would lessen to nothing over time. Another hour later and he was able to teleport to a moving kunai. _Good I'm improving faster now._ But there was something else he needed to get a handle on before he faced off against Jiraiya and earned himself that secret technique. He trained all through the night.

If Naruto could say so himself he'd had a rather productive week. The sun rose as he finished his training and he walked to the training ground where he would meet Jiraiya, a little sleep deprived but smiling and ready for the challenge.

xXx

Jiraiya found the kid at the training ground where he had revealed the identity of his parents, taking a nap under the tree they sat under the first time. Jiraiya walked over silently and went to kick Naruto awake, only to have the boy snap his eyes open and punch Jiraiya's foot into the ground.

"Oi that hurt you little shit," he said before smiling, "How'd you know I was coming?"

"Clones," he said as a number of clones all dropped from surrounding trees all at once. "Geez man you're losing your touch."

"Yeah righto kid, nice outfit by the way. The orange jumpsuit wasn't very shinobi like."

"What and yours isn't?"

"I'm allowed to be extravagant, shinobi know to run from Jiraiya of the Sannin."

"Haha okay, well how about you teach me that technique today."

"You haven't hit me yet kid."

"Well let's have another spar ero-sennin. Or are you afraid?"

"Bring it on brat," he said as he jumped back and into a defensive stance, "It's only been a week, what makes you think you can hit me now."

"Let's just say I've learnt a few new tricks," Naruto replied with a smirk.

Naruto sprung up from his position under the tree and threw three regular kunai at the Sannin, his accuracy greatly increased from last time, Jiraiya was forced to dodge them or deflect them with his own kunai. He deflected them. _Good_. Naruto created six clones that charged his god-father, three from either side.

_The kid's faster but what makes him think he can win?_

As he turned to fight the second batch of clones after abruptly dispatching the first he noticed three more kunai flying at him, he turned just in time to deal with them, but noticed something extremely strange as he dodged two and went to deflect a third with a kunai in his right hand.

_That's a hiraishin kunai, how'd he get one of them? Does he even know what they are famou-OOOH SHIITTTTTT._

Naruto had materialised from just below the kunai at the moment Jiraiya went to deflect it and grabbed it with his left hand. In his right hand was a glowing ball of energy that Jiraiya knew all too well. Naruto was now inside his guard with Jiraiya's right hand up and crossed over his body from the act of deflection. Before Naruto could make any more ground against him Jiraiya lashed out with a weak right knee from an unstable stance to get himself some breathing room. The kid stumbled back at the hit, but recovered almost straight away as Jiraiya backpedalled while going through a quick series of hand seals.

_How the hell did he manage to do that! It doesn't matter, all that matters is I now have to deal with him being able to teleport. And if I can't keep up I'm going to eat a rasengan. Kami Minato, your son is crazy!_

"I'm coming for you ero-sennin," Naruto shouted confidently before creating another six clones.

Jiraiya stopped and slammed his palm onto the ground in response and a cloud of smoke enshrouded him. When the smoke cleared, all Naruto could do was stand there with eyes wide. Jiraiya was now standing atop a massive toad.

"What do you want Jiraiya," the grouchy toad asked.

"We need to show this kid who's boss Gamabunta."

"You need my help to fight a KID!" the toad laughed, "Man next time you call me for a joke at least have some sake ready for me, HAH!" and with that the toad disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What! HEY! FOR KAMI'S SAKE," Jiraiya screamed as Naruto again charged him after that strange encounter with a massive toad. As Naruto and the clones were running they all threw a single hiraishin. Jiraiya flashed hand seals in response "**Hari Jizō **(Needle Jizo), **Hari Jigoku** (Needle Hell)" he shouted, completing his jutsu and showering all of the clones and the original with deadly senbon created from his hair defence. Before Naruto took any damage from the flying needles, all of which stopped his kunai in their tracks, he threw a kunai out to the side teleporting to it and catching it as it flew, saving him from the deadly barrage. This time Jiraiya was on the offensive. He charged Naruto with incredible speed, but before his attack could hit Naruto was already gone, teleporting to the one kunai that remained on the ground from the previous attack, the others having been dispelled after his clones popped out of existence.

Picking up the kunai he teleported to he threw it at Jiraiya as he turned to resume his attack. Jiraiya tried to deflect it, this time wary of where Naruto might appear. A kunai flew out of a bush, thrown by a clone Naruto had planted earlier, right at Jiraiya's blindspot. While Naruto forward and threw another kunai from a different angle.

Jiraiya turned, just managing to deflect the kunai thrown from the bush his right hand, while also deflecting the other two with his left hand. But it was enough.

Naruto had three kunai now flying past Jiraiya in three different directions. He teleported to the first and got right up in Jiraiya's face as Jiraiya made to counter, only to teleport to the third as it made its way past Jiraiya's side. Naruto's rasengan collided solidly with the side of Jiraiya's head after the encounter that lasted less than a minute; until Jiraiya burst into a puff of smoke.

"Well done kid, I never would have expected you to take out my clone, even if he was slightly handicapped." Jiraiya said walking out from the tree line, making sure not to praise the kid too much for what were amazing feats for any shinobi.

"So I hit your clone, does that mean you'll teach me a new technique?" Naruto asked after the rather exciting fight.

_I managed to hit him! Even if it was a clone! Man this is what happens when you train. Everyone in my grade is going to be so jealous of my cool techniques._

Jiraiya could see the cogs ticking behind the kid's blue eyes, "Don't let these new techniques go to your head okay? Arrogance will get you killed. Never ever underestimate an enemy."

_I learnt that the hard way today sheesh, but who would have thought he'd have learnt both of Minato's techniques in a WEEK!_

"If you managed to hit my clone I was going to teach you the rasengan, but apparently you've already learnt that. How did you learn those techniques anyway? They were your father's bread and butter, he invented them himself."

"After you left, Ojii-san took me to my parent's house. He told me no one had been inside, because they couldn't get in or something. I guess it has to do with me being a blood relative that I could unlock the seals and get in. Inside there were a bunch of scrolls and stuff, and I've been reading my dad's library. Two of the scrolls contained those moves. Not like official scrolls or anything but it made it easier to learn because my dad had all these notes from when he was designing them, so I learnt them too. I still haven't mastered them yet. All I know how to do is teleport to a kunai, and my rasengan could use a bit of work to get it at full power."

_But still, the fact that without anything but your father's notes you were able to execute those moves. It's amazing. I can't tell the kid that though, it'd go to his head._

"Instead of teaching you the rasengan I'm going to sign you up with a summoning contract okay?"

"You mean so I can summon toads?"

"Yup," Jiraiya replied with a small nod as he summoned the huge contract scroll and unrolled it, "sign here."

"How? I don't have anything to sign it with?"

"You sign it," Jiraiya said pausing and leaning in with an evil smile, "in bloooooddd."

"Gah!"

"HAHAHAHA," Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh at the kid's reaction, "Kid I'm only joking, but just prick your finger and sign your name, then put down each of your fingerprints."

"Okay," Naruto said, following the instructions of his sensei/god-father.

"Now you have a contract with the toads. By performing these seals then slamming the ground," Jiraiya said showing Naruto the correct seals, "and channelling enough chakra you can summon a toad."

"Cool! Will I be able to summon that big Gamabunta guy?"

"Maybe, you might want to make friends with the smaller guy's first, Gamabunta can be pretty grouchy."

"Yeah I noticed."

"Anyway Naruto, I'll see you later, I might swing by your place if your home, but I need to go talk to the Hokage."

"Got it, see you around!" Naruto said as he went and picked up any Hiraishin kunai that were lying around the battlefield and teleported home.

xXx

"You should have seen him Sarutobi, for a second I thought it was Minato back from the dead," Jiraiya said to the wizened Hokage.

"Don't worry Jiraiya, I was watching, I couldn't believe my eyes either. I take it he found more than just some dusty old books in that house. For all our safety including the boy's I need you to go over there later and tell him to seal those scrolls away or hide them whenever he isn't using them. If they somehow manage to get into the wrong hands the safety of the village will never be secure."

"I understand. Man I never thought the kid would progress this fast. It's crazy. His father's intellect, with all that chakra, and such a drive to succeed, the speed at which he's going to move up the ranks if he continues at this rate will be phenomenal. Have you given any thought as to what team he'll be on?"

"I figure it's only fair that the student teaches the son don't you think? It's almost poetic."

"You're right, that and Kakashi will shit a brick when he sees Naruto use that technique, oh kami I want to be there to see the look on his face!"

"Hahaha calm down Jiraiya, anyway the selections aren't for a while. The genin themselves don't find out for another three weeks. But yes I believe Kakashi will be in for quite the surprise."

"Yes he will. I wonder what the brat manages to come up with in the next few weeks. Anyway I'll see you later sensei," Jiraiya said to his old teacher and friend as he jumped out the window of his office.

"The boy's already making waves. And to think all he needed was a little push in the right direction from his god-father. Before we know it he'll have made a name for himself," Hiruzen muttered to himself as he looked out over the village and the sun began to set.

xXx

"Hey kid open up!" Jiraiya stood knocking on the front door of the Namikaze compound's one and only building.

"Oh hey ero-sennin! I'm coming," Naruto yelled back from what sounded like the second floor.

Within a second the door was opening.

"Don't tell me you just teleported to the front door? You're using such a high level technique for that?" If he was to be honest with himself, if he could do that he probably would too, but the kid didn't need to know that.

"Why not? Gets me more practice, that and it's so cool! Anyway come in," Jiraiya followed him inside and sat down in the living room.

"About the **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying thunder god technique), whatever scroll you used to learn it you have to hide, or lock away in whatever you can. Don't let anyone know that you have it. Same goes for the rasengan. They are both extremely powerful techniques and if they fell into the wrong hands it would put everyone in danger, got it?"

"Yeah, I figured as much, whenever I'm not using them I keep the scrolls locked, and then locked in a chest. And by locked I mean locked with a special barrier seal my dad put on a few things in the house. He even put it on the house. It's pretty cool. I was reading up on some notes about it. Apparently it only opens for the chakra of the creator, or anyone the creator of the jutsu adds into the seal. Did you ever try to get in ero-sennin? I think you would have been allowed in. I don't think ojii-san wanted to come in either. You guys are the only two people I can think of that my dad would have added to the list. I figure I could get in because of the similarities between my chakra and my parents'. But I'm only guessing here."

"Hah that sounds like a seal your dad would come up with. Would explain why this place hasn't been touched in so long."

"Yeah the best part is I can reseal it by channelling chakra into the seal again. The ultimate lock, it's pretty ingenious. I think the scrolls are pretty safe, but I'll take extra good care of them just to be sure."

"Okay good kid, anyway I just wanted to stop by and say hello, let you know what the go with those scrolls were, not sure when I'll see you next kid, I have to head out of town again but I'll visit when I get back."

"And when you do I'll land a punch on the real you," Naruto said, determined to show Jiraiya that he meant business.

"Hahaha in your dreams brat, maybe a couple of years down the line. Not anytime soon though."

xXx

Over the next few weeks Naruto spent his time training. Every minute of every day, was devoted to furthering himself in the ninja arts.

He focused on absolutely everything, from improved taijutsu, to the subtle arts of the shinobi, even mind games and strategy, courtesy of his next to unlimited chakra and his ability to make clones.

He worked on chakra control and ninjutsu, even fuuinjutsu, to help better understand seals and the **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique).

Naruto also found documentation of some ninjutsu his mother used and went to work on replicating those. All the while his clones were learning, and practicing techniques, styles, and caricatures, the original Naruto was training physically. It did him no good if he could launch a kunai accurately and teleport to it if he didn't have the speed and power to do anything about it once he was in range.

While studying fuuinjutsu he soon came to grasping the basics and began creating simple explosive tags with special paper he purchased from Mikoto's shop. It wasn't long after that that he finally worked out how to apply a weight seal to a piece of clothing.

He managed to design a simple seal using his knowledge that would add 10kg to a piece of clothing. By channelling chakra into the seal he could turn off the weight in case he needed to fight or train unhindered. Channelling chakra into the seal would resume the weight. After he worked the kinks out of this he quickly went and bought arm guards, which he applied a seal each to. He also applied three seals to the back of his coat in a triangular pattern.

About a week before it was time to be assigned a team all of Naruto's training was going well, and he was walking home from Mikoto's for a change. He had been shopping at Mikoto's for a bladed weapon that he might specialise in. He couldn't rely on just kunai and hiraishin kunai if he came up against a real swordsman, so he went shopping for a more adequate blade.

He left the shop with a katana like blade that was 40 cm in length. One might even call it an oversized tanto. It was small enough that he could wear it sideways on his lower back, drawing it without issue, but large enough that he could do some serious damage up close, if he was to be precise. After just turning the corner of the street in which the shop was located he heard someone calling his name.

"Naruto! Wait up!" A girl with pretty brown, almost black eyes and her hair in buns called out as she ran up to stop in front of him, "Have you ever used one of those before?"

"Ummm, no? But it shouldn't be too hard right? Who are you anyway?"

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself," she said, " I'm Tenten Mikoto and I'm sure you'll be a natural, but I was wondering if you maybe wanted to train a bit? I've got the day off from training with my team, and it's always better to train with someone else." Naruto's training method could attest to that statement any day of the week.

"Sure! I don't really train with anybody but myself usually, it'd be nice to have some company. You can show me how to use this thing. Come on we can train at my place."

They trained for the rest of the day, Tenten going over the basics of using a bladed weapon the likes of which Naruto had purchased. She was glad he was a natural learner; there wasn't much she had to repeat. She never asked much about his parent's and he never saw reason to tell, they just trained away in the Namikaze compound grounds.

"So do you want to spar?" Naruto asked as the day came to a close.

"Hahaha you're a fast learner Naruto but you're fresh out of the academy. I've been a genin for a while, maybe when you get better." She replied, now Naruto was the one to laugh.

"Hahahaha you've been teaching me technique with a new weapon all day. You haven't seen anything from me that would indicate how well I could fight yet," He said as he dashed up to stand in front of her, showing remarkable speed for his age.

"Wow, well I will say you're quick for your age, but if that's it you've got another thing coming." She said with a smile as she slipped into a ready fighting stance.

"Oh I haven't even gotten started yet sister." He said disabling his weight seals and disappearing in a blur.

She lost sight of him as he disappeared into the woods.

"How about I take it easy on you. I'll only use one ninjutsu, how's that?" His voice echoed from the woodland eerily, sending shivers down Tenten's spine, just who was this kid?

"Your funeral Naruto!" Tenten said as she unfurled a massive scroll and launched from it a large number of kunai and shuriken towards the treeline.

"Close, but no cigar!"

"Grrrr, come out and fight," Tenten yelled at the evasive shinobi.

"If that's really what you want, then remember that you asked for it!"

With that 50 Narutos came sprinting down out of the trees across the training grounds at Tenten, all of them brandishing the tanto in their right hands and a regular kunai in the left.

Tenten's eyes went wide at the sheer number of clones a graduate created, and the speed at which they were moving across the field; she had trouble keeping up with them all. Quickly surrounding herself with another scroll, she released a large number of projectiles to hang in the air and expertly threw them at each of the charging clones.

Within seconds of the last clone being taken down a wave of kunai were launched at her from the treeline while another wave of clones charged at her. Dodging each of the kunai she proceeded to take down the clones, showing great skill and accuracy with throwing bladed weapons.

When the last clone was finally dispelled she could heard a hissing noise. The handles of some of the kunai were wrapped in an explosive tag. Her eyes widened in shock. Who was this kid and how did he expect her to be able to survive this! Not every kunai was explosive, but there were still a large number scattered around the ground, and she was standing in the middle of them.

There was no way she could make it to the edge of the field, but she'd be damned if she didn't try to get as far away from the centre as possible. She ran, her legs pumping, trying her hardest to get herself to safety.

She heard the explosion, but for some strange reason she didn't feel the heat of the blast, or the pain that she was expecting. Instead she found herself sitting on a couch inside a rather comfortable and well-lit living room.

"Well that was fun," Naruto said with a grin on his face as he got up and walked into the kitchen, "Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"YOU NEARLY KILLED ME, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" She cried in outrage.

"What I was thinking, was that you would be perfectly fine. As you can see I had the situation under control."

"Yeah HOW? I thought I was a goner!"

"Well I waited to see if you had a counter to my explosive plan of attack, and when you turned and ran I assumed that you didn't. When I knew you wouldn't make it out by yourself I rescued you."

"But how did you move so fast? How did you save me?"

"That is something that I'll let you ponder on. A magician never reveals his tricks. I will say I used a jutsu, so technically I used two jutsu that fight, but considering I only used one to save you from my own attack it was only fair. Now would you like anything?"

Over the following week, Tenten would come around to train and have light sparring sessions with Naruto whenever she got time away from the shop and her team.

As cryptic as he had been about rescuing her from his rather excessive attack he was a nice guy, talented as far as any shinobi their age went and he didn't look half bad in that outfit of his. She thought his whisker marks were pretty cute too.

Naruto made sure not to use the **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique) around Tenten just to vex her and keep her wondering exactly what it was that he did to get her out of the explosive situation.

Before long it was time for team assignment. Naruto got dressed in his usual, weight seals and all. Since his first encounter with Tenten he'd upped the weights by another 10 kilograms so he was now carrying an extra 60 kilograms of weight. He'd rearranged the distribution though. Naruto was now carrying 10 kilograms on each limb, one on his chest, and one on his back in the middle of his coat. Not only did he now look more intimidating, he thought, but the weight was well distributed across his body.

From the looks of it he'd beaten half the graduates as he sat down in an empty seat in the half empty room. Looking around he could see Akamichi Chouji snacking on a bag of chips, Ino Yamanaka who was looking around anxiously, no doubt waiting for the infamous Uchiha Sasuke. He could also see Inuzuka Kiba with his ninken Akamaru and Nara Shikamaru feigning sleep. Hyuuga Hinata was sitting meekly in the corner and it was not lost on him that she was flashing looks at him whenever she thought he wasn't paying attention. That was about it at the time. Some of the others were chucking glances at him, obviously because of his new look, and because he'd grown.

Courtesy of being able to afford food other than instant ramen, don't get him wrong though, he still loved the stuff. It's just that Naruto did understand the importance of nutrition and there were even a few cookbooks in the pantry, so Naruto had improved his diet, resulting in a surprising growth spurt, along with a significant amount of muscle definition for his age. That'd be the non-stop training and conditioning he was putting himself through, not that they could see his muscles through his shirt, well maybe the Hyuuga could, he noted.

Naruto sat in quiet, analysing each and every one of them as they waited, and it seemed that Shikamaru was the only one that noticed, giving a slight nod as Naruto's eyes passed across him.

It wasn't long before the classroom began to fill up and the Jounins strolled in. There was the usual fight between Sakura and Ino about who was going sit next to Sasuke until one of the Jounins stepped up and told everyone to sit down and shut up. His command was obliged almost instantaneously.

Each of the respective Jounin stepped up to announce their teams.

"Team 7 is Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto," a tall man with spiky white hair, a face mask and a hitai covering his left eye said, "Meet me on top of the academy in an hour," And with that he strolled out of the room.

Sakura's reaction was initially glee at having been put with Sasuke. But that lasted all of 2 seconds before she found out that her other partner was Naruto. She needn't be worried though. Over the past month training, the time spent talking with Jiraiya whenever he was around and the past week spent with Tenten, Sakura had no need to worry about Naruto harassing her with date requests. When he originally told Jiraiya about his problem with his crush the man laughed.

"Naruto, maybe she'll change her tune down the line, but if she's so interested in this Sasuke guy you are telling me about that she won't pay attention at all to how you feel then leave her. Focus on your training, focus on your path to greatness. She'll wake up and notice what she is missing out on, or she won't. But don't let it consume you, and don't let it get you down."

Naruto had come to terms with this and even though it still hurt a little bit he was right to let it go. He enjoyed his time with Tenten more anyway and she was just his training partner. At least she talked to him.

The remaining teams to be assigned were Team 8 and Team 9 and Team 10. Team 8 consisted of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba and his dog Akamaru; they were led by Kurenai Yuhi. Team 10 was led by the son of the Hokage, Sarutobi Asuma, and consisted of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, a combination Naruto had read about over the past month. The legendary combination their three clans had come up with was mentioned a lot in Konoha history.

After Asuma had left the room they all sat not knowing what to do. They all had an hour before they had to meet their respective jounin sensei and it was around lunchtime.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry, who's keen for some ramen?" Naruto said as he stood up and stretched, having been sitting there for a while.

The obvious few were against hanging out with the dead-last of the class, namely Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino. But when Chouji and Shikamaru both agreed to join up for lunch a few more people got up to leave with the group, Hinata included. As they were leaving Shikamaru turned to Naruto.

"So what changed all of a sudden? It's only been a month and you've changed your look, but I can tell you've changed more than that."

"Let's just say I found out a few things, and I got a lot more serious about being a shinobi. I'm that much closer to becoming Hokage now, dattebayo!"

"There were go, same old Naruto," Chouji said as they all laughed and left for lunch.

xXx

An hour later Naruto arrived on the rooftop to find Sakura and Sasuke sitting there in silence. Sakura kept casting nervous glances at Sasuke. Neither of them noticed that he was there until he sat down between the two but before Sakura could protest Kakashi arrived in a swirl of leaves.

_Nice intimidation trick sensei._

"So I guess you three are going to my squad from now on huh? Well how about we introduce ourselves, maybe shares some likes, dislikes, hobbies."

"Okay well how about you go first then Kakashi-sensei," Sakura piped in.

"Okay. I am Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream... " He drifted off before snapping back to his students, "I have few hobbies."

All three genin face-faulted at how uninformative the introduction was.

"Your turn Sakura-san."

"Well I like," she said as she turned to look at Sasuke, "I dislike, Naruto-baka. My dreams are," she continued to stare at Sasuke, and then giggled when she said, "and my hobby is."

_Oh Great _all three men thought, mentally face-palming.

Sasuke went through his likes, dislikes, and explained his dream of getting revenge on someone who he claimed had ruined his life, to which only Naruto seemed to notice the worried crease appear on Kakashi's face, then it was his turn.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto, I like – ,"

"But your name is Uzumaki Naruto baka! Geez how are we going to survive when you can't even get your name right," Sakura interrupted, chest puffed out proudly to know she'd gotten another one up on the dead last.

"Actually Sakura that was my mother's last name, I recently learned that my father's surname was Namikaze."

"But I've only ever heard of one Namikaze living in Konoha silly, and that was the Yondaime Hokage…" She drifted off as the two academy graduates stared at Naruto dumbfounded.

"Yep the Yondaime was my dad."

"So the old man finally told you then," Kakashi said with an eye-smile, "it was about time, it's good to have you on the team Naruto."

Before he could get cut off again Naruto quickly continued, "Anyway, my likes are Ramen, and learning new techniques. My dislikes are people who assume they are better than others, and my dream is to become Hokage and make my parents proud. My hobbies include, fuuinjutsu, training, reading and cooking. Oh and can you not tell anyone who my dad was, I wanted you guys to know because you're my team, but I don't want heaps of other people to know yet,"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes that is wise, I hope you heed these words," the jounin said to the other two graduates."

Before Kakashi could speak up about what they were to do next Sasuke spoke up, "How can a dobe like you be the Yondaime's son? You were useless in the academy, what makes you think you can do better out here?"

"Sasuke, a lot can change in a month, and there were circumstances when I was at the academy that shall we say limited my potential, but I believe our sensei was trying to talk."

"Hmph, whatever."

"Yes, what I was going to say was that tomorrow morning at 8:00 am I want you to meet me at Training ground 21 for your final examination before becoming permanent genin in this squad. And don't eat breakfast beforehand."

"What!" Sakura exclaimed, "I thought we'd already passed and graduated, wasn't that what the academy was for?"

_I don't see how this team is going to pass the bell test, and to think that I might have had the chance to train the son of my sensei._

"Yes, but you still need to pass this final test if you want to be shinobi of Konoha." He said before disappearing in a whirl of leaves.


	3. 3: The Bell Test

**Hey guys, realised as I went through my first two chapters I had a few spelling and grammar mishaps, might go back and fix those when i get around to it. In the meantime I'd submit this next chapter, that more or less just continues the development and sets things up. YAY! Anyway I'll get back to writing the land of waves arc after I get raped by this engineering assignment. That and borderlands 2 is out, so don't expect an update every second day :P :) Enjoy**_  
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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 3: The Bell Test**

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_Training Ground 21 - Konoha_

As Sasuke entered the training field, Naruto dropped down from a tree next to him.

_Since when can dobe sneak up on me like that! I didn't know he was there until he wanted me to. Something is definitely different about him that's for sure._

"Hey dobe," Sasuke said coolly, playing off the fact that Naruto had actually gotten the drop on him, "still got that grand idea in your head that you can beat me, even after everything in the academy?"

"Hahaha," Naruto chuckled, "Don't expect me to be as weak I used to be Sasuke, I've learnt a few new tricks since then. If we all pass this test you can fight me afterwards, settle this little issue you have with thinking you are better than everyone."

"Tch, why would I waste my time fighting someone who I know I can beat? Besides, do you even know how to use that sword?" _There's only one person I want to fight._

"You might change your tune after this test, depends on what we have to do. Anyway whatever it is it's probably going to test our teamwork, so we should start working together if we want to be a successful squad."

"Yeah whatever dobe," Sasuke grumbled as he went and leant against a tree, waiting for Kakashi and Sakura to arrive.

It didn't take long for a shrill "Hey SASUKE!" to be heard from across the grounds.

_Oh man, how was I ever attracted to that, I mean she's pretty, but that voice, it's going to give me migraines. Come to think of it, was I always that loud too?_

Sakura ran over to Sasuke, not paying the slightest amount of attention to the fact that Naruto was there, but before she could start harassing him Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves, his face planted in a book that Naruto by now knew was Icha Icha after having gone through his parents' library. He'd figured by now that perversion was something that onset at puberty or something, every old guy he knew was a pervert.

"Okay guys, today you have to pass a test to see if you truly have what it takes to be genin of Konoha. If you do not past this test it is within my rights to send you back to the academy or remove you from the program all together," at this both Sasuke and Sakura looked shocked and betrayed that Konoha would do such a thing, Naruto however had a stern expression, thinking over what had been said so far, "I have here two bells. I'd like you to do your best to take them from me. Whoever doesn't have a bell in 3 hours will not pass."

"Alright well can we begin Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked before Sakura could pipe up about the injustice of it all.

"You may." He said turning his attention back to Icha Icha.

_From everything the academy told me Sasuke is the one that's going to give me the most trouble, although that Naruto is the Yondaime's son, surely he can't be as hopeless as the academy teachers say he is._

With that Sasuke and Sakura both launched themselves into the foliage above, Sasuke to scope out the situation, and Sakura because she was following Sasuke. Naruto just stood in the shade of the tree as Kakashi remained in the middle of training ground.

_This is going to be easy._ Naruto thought to himself as he prepared to throw his kunai.

_Dobe what are you doing, don't stand out in the open like that! _

Naruto launched two Hiraishin kunai at Kakashi, intentionally throwing slightly wide, so that Kakashi wouldn't be tempted to move from his position. Naruto could tell the man had an apathetic nature, why make him move when he was in a perfect position? Kakashi looked up as the kunai flew toward him.

_Why would he throw those? He isn't a very good throw if that's the best he's got, they are both going wide._

_Hah! Dobe, what a crap throw, still the worst out of all of us I see, and he thinks he can beat me!_

There was a strange feeling in Kakashi's gut though, but by the time he realised what the problem was it was too late. Naruto saw the look of surprise on the face of his sensei just before he disappeared.

Naruto materialised just to Kakashi's left as a kunai passed on either side of him. Slashing out with his tanto held firmly in his right hand in a draw and re-sheath motion he cut the strings to the bells off Kakashi's belt in the blink of an eye, grabbing them in his left hand. "Too slow sensei," Naruto said before disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the field, already retrieving his kunai.

_What just happened! One second Naruto was on one side of the field, the next he was on the other with the bells in his hand!_ Sakura hadn't even seen Naruto materialise next to Kakashi it had happened so fast.

_How did he get so fast? That has to be some technique; there is no way he covered that distance on foot, it must have something to do with those kunai. It's NOT FAIR; I'M THE ONE THAT NEEDS THAT POWER._

_And so the yellow flash of Konoha returns, well this is big news_. Kakashi thought to himself after getting over his initial shock.

Naruto Shun Shinned back over to the tree he was originally standing under, still quick, but in the end nowhere near as fast as his previous movements.

Kakashi walked back over to the trio as Sakura and Sasuke dropped down from their hiding places, meanwhile Naruto had walked up to Sakura and Sasuke and given each of them a bell.

"B-b-but why would you give us a bell," Sakura asked, still shocked at the turn of events.

"Because I got them without the help of you and Sasuke, you didn't even get to show off your skills. It's kind of unfair to you. That being said I'd kind of already worked out the point of the test anyway. I mean have you ever heard of a three man squad? It was a test of teamwork, I kind of invalidated it though, soooo," he said turning to Kakashi, "do we pass Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hahaha I guess I have no choice but to pass you three, I mean otherwise I'd have to come up with another test, and I couldn't be bothered," eye smiling at the three as he said this.

They all face faulted.

"Anyway that was incredible Naruto, since when have you been able to do the **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique)?"

_So that's what it was, the signature jutsu of the Yondaime, I should have known. _Sasuke thought bitterly at getting so utterly shown up by the dobe.

"Hahahaha that's my little secret, and I've by no means mastered it, but anyway, seeing as we passed and it's only been like a minute, do you want to see what I can really do?" Naruto asked with a smirk on his face.

"Don't get too cocky Naruto, I'd love to take you down a notch, although if I want to stand a chance against that speed, I'll need to use one of my own tricks." He said as he pulled up his hitai and opened his eye, surprising them with a fully awakened sharingan.

"Right well if you're getting that serious I better take off my weights," at this they all raised their eyebrows in surprise as all of the seals on his clothing flashed once, indicating that they'd been turned off.

"Ummm Naruto, how much weight were you wearing just then?" Sakura asked, curious as to how fast he'd be now.

"Oh not much, I need to bump up the number of seals when I get home. Each seal is equivalent to 10kg, all up 60kg."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows in surprise, the kid seemed quick even without the **Hiraishin no Jutsu **(Flying Thunder God Technique), he could only wonder what speed and strength he had now that he weighed half as much as before. He'd heard the story about the kid learning the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Shadow Clone technique) and creating a tonne of kage bunshin to fight Mizuki after he realised he'd been tricked. The story must be true, because this amount of progress would only have been possible for someone with the ability to create that many clones.

Sakura was shocked. This couldn't be the same Naruto, there was no way. Naruto was a goofy obnoxious prankster who couldn't even do a bunshin. How is it that he was now a serious shinobi who actually knew what he was doing, and was actually good at it?

Sasuke was fuming, he was furious that Naruto had been able to become so strong, that he was already what appeared to be Kakashi's favourite, even when Kakashi had a sharingan. He needed Kakashi, not Naruto, he needed to get stronger so he could destroy the man who ruined his life. How had the last in their class surpassed him in just over a month? No normal person should be able to progress at that speed. Little did Sasuke know that Naruto was no ordinary human being.

Over the past month, working as hard as he was working, and with the number of clones he could produce, he had accrued what would have been years of training and knowledge gathering for anybody else. Naruto wasn't even sure himself what number of clones he'd been creating, but even working for 6 hours a day, which was an extremely low estimate as there were days when he was working himself into the ground, with 200 clones, that was the equivalent of approximately 4 years training time alone, not including what he did with the rest of his day. Four years of training could result in a ridiculous amount of progress. And with the amount of material he had in his parent's study to go over; techniques, combat tactics, styles, fuuinjutsu, chakra manipulation and control, and original ideas for improving his current Jutsu he had no shortage of things to train.

Quick as a flash Naruto had launched a number of Hiraishin Kunai at Kakashi, again none of them looked to actually hit him, instead they had gone relatively low landing in the ground, which was what worried him, Naruto was trying to get a positional advantage over him.

_He plans on using his strongest technique to corral me to try and force a mistake. _

Naruto kept throwing the kunai, of which he had an almost endless supply, thanks to his dad's arsenal and a number of storage scrolls.

Kakashi made to rush Naruto to instead try and force a mistake from the boy but rather than running away and giving Kakashi time to make a string of hand seals Naruto simply disappeared, reappearing a few feet from the jounin underneath a kunai he'd just thrown with the tanto in his right hand bringing it around the front of his body in a backhand slash. Kakashi made to block with a kunai in his left hand and attack with his right but as his kunai and the tanto made contact Naruto brought around his left, forming a blue spiralling orb of chakra.

Kakashi hastily pushed off with his left hand and did a back handspring to get some distance from another one of the Yondaime's signature moves, all the while making sure not to come too close to any of the kunai lying on the ground.

Naruto wasn't giving him enough time to get a string of hand seals together for a jutsu, he was simply too quick with the **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique)

_He understands the advantage he has with that technique, and knows that things could change if I could get a jutsu off. But with an offensive like that with the use of the rasengan I can't afford to stand still, the kid formed it as he was punching me, incredible! If I give Naruto an opening for even a second he'll be on me. The worst part is that he's not looking me in the eyes. _But Kakashi had a plan.

He continued back pedalling away from the incredibly quick Naruto, making sure to keep his defences up while staying away from any stray kunai that were on the ground or that Naruto was throwing, and started veering towards the river. If he could get onto the river Naruto wouldn't be able to rely on any stray kunai on the ground. He'd lessen the advantage of Naruto's **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique) by a fair amount, but Naruto saw this and wasn't having any of it.

Kakashi had managed to force his hand somewhat. Naruto either had to get between Kakashi and the water, end the fight right then and there, or lose part of his advantage. Realising that Naruto threw two more hiraishin kunai at Kakashi. Kakashi waited as both kunai flew past him and turned to attack should Naruto appear. Naruto, surmising that Kakashi was about to counter the forced move, flashed to one of the kunai and released three more kunai directly at Kakashi before flashing away almost as soon as he arrived.

Running towards the water, Kakashi couldn't change his momentum fast enough to avoid the three point blank kunai and was forced to deflect them, wondering when Naruto was going to use them to appear. Instead Naruto had flashed to a location off to the side, with a kunai that he'd set up just before throwing the original two past Kakashi. He charged in from the side just as Kakashi attempted to deflect the three kunai. Kakashi turned just as Naruto thrust out a rasengan in his right hand which he was forced to reel away from, but surprisingly Naruto let the rasengan fade just before following through with a left handed punch that connected with Kakashi's chest.

The punch connected, Naruto channelled a burst of chakra to the end of his fist at the exact correct moment and Kakashi exploded in to fine rain of splinters, having performed **Kawarimi no Jutsu**(Body Replacement Technique) at the last second.

"Very impressive Naruto, but that's enough for today I think, I should go and report the results of the bell test to the Hokage and would rather not be turned into a fine red paste, man you pack a hit if you managed to do that to a log. Also never ever underestimate the power of a log. It may very well save your life one day, let that be a lesson to all of you," he said to his students as he walked out of the tree line with an eye smile, "Now I need to be going, meet me at the Hokage's building tomorrow at 9:00 to pick up our first mission." and he disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

xXx

As the three rookie genin began walking back into the main part of town Naruto turned to them, "so do you guys have anywhere you need to be for the rest of the day?"

They both looked at him cautiously, not sure how to answer before Sakura spoke up, "No not really why?" She had no reason not to tell the truth, even if she was talking to Naruto.

"What about you Sasuke?"

"No, dobe I don't have anywhere to be." Sasuke replied as grouchy as ever.

"Well then teme I was wondering if you guys wanted to come over to mine to train, now that we're a team?" even if they treated him harshly when they were at the academy, Naruto was getting over Sakura, and Sasuke had his reasons for being insufferable. They were on his team now, and if anything Naruto wanted them to improve as much as he had.

"Ummmmm I guess, but how do you have room to train?" Sakura was hesitant at first, but after seeing how Naruto performed during the test she saw no harm in training with him, he might be able to help her get better. Sasuke was thinking the same, that maybe if he trained with Naruto he could learn the secrets to his rapid improvement.

"Well I kind of inherited my parents' place when I was told who they were, so I have heaps of training room. It's where I've been the past month basically, improving my skills. Here hold on, I don't feel like walking the rest of the way."

"Ummm I don't know about th-" but Naruto had already grab both of them by the collars and flashed away.

xXx

"So your team passed then Kakashi, was it the Uchiha kid who did most of the work?" Asuma asked when Kakashi appeared in the office of the Hokage, only three Jounin were present as only three teams had passed; Teams 7, 8, and 9. Kurenai stood there expectantly as she waited for Kakashi to answer.

"Actually it was Naruto; he kind of invalidated the test."

"What? How do you invalidate the bell test?" Kurenai was curious as to what a genin could do to ruin the test.

"Apart from telling the other genin the point of the test before it starts," Kakashi explained, "which he didn't do, there is always getting both bells himself." Both Kurenai and Asuma burst out laughing.

"Good one Kakashi, but seriously how do you invalidate the test?" Asuma roared after his bout of laughter.

"He wasn't kidding, Asuma, Kurenai, come see for yourself," Hiruzen said as he showed them his crystal ball.

They both stood watching wide-eyed as the replay ended in seconds.

"What, but that's crazy! How does a genin move like that?"

"Hiraishin no Jutsu, if you hadn't worked it out already he is the son of Yondaime. I don't know how he learnt it but it's incredible," Kakashi said, "And if you think that's good we had a real fight afterwards, to test his mettle against me. I used my sharingan."

"And?" Kurenai and Asuma both enquired.

"If I hadn't used Kawarimi no Jutsu at the last second, at the very best I'd be in hospital, worst I'd be a stain on the ground. It might have turned out differently if the fight had started on my terms, but they started on his, and I didn't even have a chance to use a Jutsu, any of the techniques I might have been able to use that don't involve hand seals probably would have killed him. Show them Hokage-sama."

Kurenai and Asuma were both outright amazed at the fight a genin gave a high level jounin who was using sharingan.

"He hasn't even mastered the jutsu yet, but I can safely say that it would have been terrifying fighting the Yondaime. It didn't matter that I could see the kid, and see what he was doing; he was too quick for me to stop him. That and he knew what I was trying to do by running to the water. The kid is easily high chunin level now, with just those two techniques and his knowledge of how to use them, and he's probably got even more tricks up his sleeve, I mean he didn't even use shadow clones. Not to mention the power of that hit, I don't know how a kid his size hits that hard."

"He probably uses the same method Tsunade uses; chakra manipulation," Hiruzen offered from his position behind the desk, "if you look closely at the point of impact you can see a flash, that'd be a chakra burst."

"But didn't the academy say that his chakra control was horrible?" Asuma didn't know how someone could improve their chakra control so easily in just a month.

"You forget that chakra manipulation and control can be practiced and improved over time. And with the number of clones Naruto can create he has had the equivalent of all the time in the world to train over this past month," the Hokage added, as if settling the matter, "Either way it doesn't matter, he'll continue to improve in Team 7, maybe it'll even positively effect Sasuke now that there is someone his age that is his better."

They all nodded, knowing that Sasuke's current ideas of revenge were only going to ruin his life.

_We can only hope _Kakashi thought to himself as they were dismissed.

xXx

"If you feel like vomiting take it outside," was the first thing out of Naruto's mouth when they arrived back in his living room. Sasuke seemed relatively fine, if a little unsettled, but Sakura had to quickly excuse herself as she went outside to get some air.

"You okay Sakura-chan?"

After a couple of minutes she walked back inside looking much better, "Yeah I'm fine now, but man that felt weird Naruto,"

"So how did you get so powerful all of a sudden? Huh," Sasuke asked obnoxiously.

"Yeah Naruto, what'd you do?"

"I trained. It's as simple as that. I worked hard. Unfortunately it's not something you can emulate."

"What? We can't train, are you stupid dobe?"

"I wasn't finished yet teme, what I meant was that you can't train the way I did. I use shadow clones to train, which according to the Hokage require Jounin levels of chakra to create about 5-10 comfortably without putting the user in danger. Each shadow clone passes on its memories to me, the original, so whatever they learn, I learn. The thing is, I've had a condition since I was born that has given me ridiculous amounts of chakra. So I can create a lot more."

"How many more Naruto?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I make upwards of two hundred for training purposes." Naruto said casually.

"You learn two hundred times faster?" Sakura was shocked, that kind of learning rate was crazy, the things you could get done if you did things two hundred times faster was phenomenal.

"So that explains why I improved so much over such a short time. I've been getting pretty bad headaches sometimes though. But I asked Jiraiya and he said that that'd be because I'm taking in a lot of information all the time, so it's just mental stress."

"Wait, you know Jiraiya of the Sannin?" Sakura asked dumbstruck, that guy was famous!

"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you he is my god father, isn't that cool." Naruto replied with a smile on his face while rubbing the back of his head.

"This IS BULLSHIT! I train so hard all the time to get stronger, and then you find out you have a hot shot shinobi god father who's probably taught you awesome techniques and an ability to learn incredibly fast and over take me. I need to be the strongest to achieve my goal."

"Actually Sasuke," Naruto said with his voice rising, he was starting to get sick of his attitude, "Jiraiya has taught me one move so far. Everything else I've learnt by myself. Even the Hiraishin no Jutsu that you saw me using today, I learnt that by myself. OKAY! What's so important that you need to be better than everyone else huh? Because there is only one reason I'll accept."

"FINE! I NEED TO KILL MY BROTHER! I NEED TO AVENGE MY CLAN!" Sasuke screamed, they didn't understand, "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE EVERYTHING!"

"No, I don't. But I know what it's like to have nothing since day one. To live alone in fear of your life with only one person who will bother talking to you at all. To hope that whenever I went out as a child I wasn't mugged or killed. To live alone of the streets for a time because that was what it took to survive. For my whole life people have just ignored that I even exist, and the ones who didn't generally were people trying to hurt or kill me! PEOPLE WOULD JUST PRETEND THAT THE POOR ORPHAN DIDN'T EXIST! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT WAS FOR ME HUH? Why do you think I acted out all the time? BECAUSE I WANTED PEOPLE TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE MY EXISTENCE. But then I found out why people hated me and then I found out almost straight after that my father was responsible for it. I WAS ANGRY, I WAS HURT, but I forgave my father because it was the only thing he could do. After seeing this house, and my nursery, MY FUCKING NURSERY SASUKE, and seeing a happy photo of my family just before I was born, I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT I'D LOST, I LOST SO MUCH THE DAY I WAS BORN. But I didn't wallow in self-pity; I didn't become lost in grief. I became driven to be the best that I can be in order to make my parents proud. To become a shinobi that the village will admire, and become strong so I can protect this village so what happened to my family won't happen to anybody elses!"

Sakura was standing near the door, tears falling down her face as she listened to Naruto's story, imagining all the times that she had been mean to him in the academy. She felt horrible, sick to her stomach that she was partly responsible for Naruto's misery.

Sasuke was taken aback that someone had had it as rough, or in Naruto's case rougher than he had, although Sasuke would never admit it.

"Don't let grief and rage consume you Sasuke, do you think your parents would want you to seek revenge if it meant sacrificing yourself?"

"Tch," Was all Sasuke could say in response as he got up and walked to the door.

"Just what I thought," Naruto said to his back, "Anyway, when you want to learn something come around and I'll try and teach you what I can, you are still in my team," he continued, his voice softening.

"Whatever," and with that he was gone.

Sakura wasn't quite sure what to do. Did she follow Sasuke out, or stay with Naruto for now, before she could come to a decision, Naruto had come to one for her, "Come on, let's get some training done before the day is up shall we?" He said with a smile as he wiped the tears out of his eyes.

"Is all of what you said true Naruto?" Sakura asked as they walked outside to a training field.

"Every word of it, I had no reason to lie to Sasuke. Lying isn't going to turn him off the path he's on. Anyone could see that."

"Well can I ask why it is people hate you then?" She asked nervously, not sure how to tread across what she though was thin ice. As annoying as Naruto was in the academy, she didn't know about why he was the way he was, and now he seemed to be a lot more tolerable. He was even a teammate, a strong teammate who was offering help. She couldn't not do the same for him if there was some way for her to help.

"I suppose you can, being on my team and all, but I'd like you to keep it a secret. I'm pretty sure our year doesn't know about it, but all the old people do. Do you know what the Kyuubi is?" she nodded, "Well it wasn't destroyed, because it can't be destroyed. On the night of the attack twelve years ago, my father had to seal it inside of me in order to save the village. So it's right here, in my belly. It's the reason I have such a large amount of chakra. And the reason people hate me. They don't see me when they look at me; they just see the killer fox that attacked the village." Sighing he turned and created a number of clones that ran off and began training.

That was horrible. Sakura couldn't believe that Naruto had had to live with such a burden and so much resentment for something he had no control over. It would have driven her insane if she was in his position. She was seeing the real Naruto today. The ninja that wouldn't quit no matter what, the ninja that would achieve his dream of becoming a great ninja that could protect those he loved or die trying. Not the obnoxious loud mouthed orange ninja façade, but the true Naruto.

"I'm so sorry Naruto-kun," she said as she pulled him into an unexpected hug. _Well this is nice_. He thought as he looked down at the top of her head.

"It's okay Sakura-chan you had nothing to do with it, you didn't even know," he smiled down at her.

"But I was so mean to you; I can't believe you've had to deal with so much."

"Like I said, it's okay. I forgive you. It's nice to hear that you are sorry, but really I'm okay, now let's get to training."

Naruto created a massive number of clones once again and had them get to work at training a great number of things. He then spent the rest of the afternoon teaching Sakura how to wall walk. She got it almost straight away. Apparently she had expert chakra control due to the small amount of chakra she had. He told her she'd have to work on improving that though if she was to get stronger; explaining that the chakra coils in the body can be expanded by using chakra more often.

When she was adequate at walking on the trees, he got her to run up and down the trees to try giving her mild chakra exhaustion. When that wasn't working fast enough he decided that some light sparring while hanging upside down would be good training.

By dinner they were about both ready to hit the hay, well Sakura was, Naruto could have kept training, but neither of them had eaten. So Naruto cooked up some home-made pork ramen, took her by the hand and flashed away.

"Why do you have a Hiraishin Kunai up here Naruto?" They were standing at the top of the Hokage monument look out over the village?

"Sometimes when I'm taking a break I like to sit up here and look out over the village, knowing that one day I'll be their protector."

They spent the evening sitting atop the monument looking out over Konoha, eating and talking about what lay ahead, and what he was going to get her to train on next.

"Thanks for today Naruto-kun, it was great to actually learn something new since academy and you're a pretty good teacher. You make some mean ramen too." She said with a smile before she rushed home, worried about getting scolded by her parents.

Apart from his disturbing encounter with Sasuke Naruto could say he had a pretty great day just training with Sakura, even if she did get a little grumpy when she was having trouble sticking to the tree and paying attention to fighting him.

He went to sleep with a smile on his face that night. Things in Konoha might finally start going his way.

xXx

Over the next couple of months, Team 7 completed a variety of D rank missions, the most annoying of which would have been the retrieval of a maniacal cat by the name of Tora had Naruto not been able to use **Hiraishin no Jutsu **(Flying Thunder God Technique). Whenever they weren't doing missions Sakura and Naruto were training, and they grew quite close over time. Naruto got the feeling that Sakura was still madly in love with Sasuke, but it was still nice to have another friend around.

They only ever saw Sasuke during missions and any time there was team training, and he would disappear before Sakura even had a chance try and track him down and spend time with him. After a few repeated attempts at finding him she gave up and decided that she'd just have to spend as much time as she could with him on missions.

She was improving rapidly now that she had Naruto to teach her. Kakashi really didn't do much with regards to teaching them techniques. Hell, he didn't even teach them much at all. He was more like their chaperone most of the time, just making sure they didn't get in trouble during a mission and keeping them in line.

Sakura had mastered tree and water walking almost straight away. Naruto then started working on improving her taijutsu, and chakra stores. This proved more difficult, but it paid off for her when Naruto taught her how to use chakra to add more power to her punches. He figured it didn't require excessive amounts of chakra, but still required precise chakra control, so it was the perfect way to give her a strength boost.

Sakura was grateful for all the help she was receiving from Naruto. And it wasn't like she was hindering his progress. By the end of the first month of missions Naruto had increased the weights on his clothing to 90kg, within two months they were at 120kg, almost twice his body weight.

He kept trying to increase his speed, trying to do justice to the legacy of the Yellow Flash. He was still learning as he trained Sakura, and this was displayed by his increasing mastery of fuuinjutsu. He was even working on elemental chakra, after having found from Jiraiya and the use of a special piece of paper that his affinity was wind. By the end of the two months he'd already worked out how to extend his blade through wind chakra manipulation, and had learnt his share of wind ninjutsu to complement his skills.

But it wasn't just Sakura and himself that were improving. After training with Sakura for the first time he made an effort to go and find the other rookie genin teams to offer them a bit of training if they wanted it. At first they were doubtful but decided that they would at the insistence of their jounin sensei, who really knew how strong Naruto had become. They wouldn't complain if someone was helping them improve their teams in their spare time. They weren't let down by the knowledge that Naruto had of the ninja arts, and each of the genin started showing marked improvements now that he was helping them along.

Naruto was also finding fuuinjutsu to be an extremely powerful art, and wondered why no one studied it. Jiraiya was the one to answer that question, explaining that there were very few people alive that could do great fuuinjutsu, and fewer people who taught it. It was a rare and powerful ability that he explained the Uzumaki clan were wiped out for having.

As he progressed in his studies he realised he could apply seals to his own body that would do a variety of things, even the seal for the **Hiraishin no Jutsu **(Flying Thunder God Technique). Naruto had also developed a seal that used a space time manipulation to transport a chakra burst to a 'hub' seal, whenever chakra was run through it; mainly the one that he now had on the middle of his forearm. Every one of the rookie genin aside from Sasuke now had two seals in the middle of the inside of their forearms.

Naruto had come to them with an idea and none of them had any objections. One of the seals was the chakra burst seal, the other was the Hiraishin seal. Now whenever any of them were in trouble they only needed to channel chakra into the seal to notify Naruto that they needed him. He could then use to **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique) to teleport straight to their location.

He also used a failsafe that he engineered from his father's barrier seal. It stopped the seal from sending the burst of chakra if the chakra channelled through it wasn't the same as the person who the seal was applied to; stopping an ambush for him if they were captured.

The first time that everyone had arrived at his clan compound for training they were sceptical about what they could be taught by the supposed dead last of the academy. They'd only come because their sensei had recommended it. The six genin stood there as Naruto walked onto the training ground to greet them. Sakura had been training earlier that morning and stood looking confidently at her academy friends.

xXx Flashback xXx

She didn't like how Naruto had started giving training to everyone; she might have been a touch jealous that she wasn't the only one getting special treatment now, but she did understand why he wanted to do it. They were all part of the same village, fighting to protect everyone and improve Konoha's standing.

"So why did our sensei say we come and train here with you whenever we had free time huh? What's so special about you Naruto? I could beat you easy!" Kiba said obnoxiously from the line-up, Akamaru barking to reinforce his statement. Naruto had visited each team around a month ago, but this was the first time any of the six genin had visited at all, he guessed they'd been busy.

"I wouldn't be so sure Kiba, there's something different about him now, look even the way Sakura's acting around him has changed." Shikamaru said in response, a thoughtful look plastered on his face.

Akamaru was still barking defiantly, while the rest stood and watched as Naruto walked up to an upright log about three feet in diameter that he had his clones put into the training ground the night before. About eight feet of it was sticking out of the ground.

"Kiba, come up to this and punch it as hard as you can for me will you?" Naruto challenged.

"Uhhh, okay, I'll break that thing like the toothpick it is!" His false bravado ringing through the air as he walked over to the log. He stood composing himself before charging at it and launching what looked to be his strongest punch. His fist collided with it only for a cracking sound to be heard.

"OH KAMI, I THINK I ALMOST BROKE MY HAND." Screaming as Naruto came over to inspect the damage.

"Well that'd be Log 1 – Kiba 0, never underestimate the log Kiba. And it looks like you only dislocated a finger. Give me your hand," He said grabbing Kiba's hand quickly before the boy could object and popping the finger back in.

"KAMI, THAT HURT ALMOST AS MUCH," All the other genin could do was hang their heads in shame and face-palm at the stupidity of their friend.

"So what was the point of that demonstration Naruto; to show how dumb Kiba is?" Shika queried, getting a growl from both Kiba and Akamaru.

"I wasn't finished yet smarty pants, Sakura, please demonstrate the correct technique to breaking a log."

"Bahahahaha good one Naruto, how is Sakura able to do it if I couldn't, that thing is as solid as a rock," by now the other genin thought Naruto was playing a joke, and started laughing, albeit not nearly as confidently as Kiba, with Hinata just looking shyly at Naruto.

That was until Sakura walked straight up to the log and from a standing position punched it so hard that her fist went a foot into the front side and a cloud of splinters exploded from the back as the top of the log fell backwards onto the ground."

"Very well done Sakura-chan. That, my friends, is how you correctly break a log. Although something as majestic as a log will never be kept down for long," they would have looked at him strangely if they weren't busy trying to pick their jaws up off the ground, "Now who would like to start training," and with that they all raised their hands, still dumbstruck at what Sakura had been able to do.

xXx End Flashback xXx

Since then there was rarely a time when all of teams 8 and 9 were there together, mostly it was one or two people showing up whenever they weren't busy with missions, family matters, or team training. Naruto thought it was great to finally have not only the respect of the other genin but also their friendship, as they all grew closer as a group over time. Even Hinata started coming out of her shell a little bit as Naruto continued to train her. She still was a little bit funny, blushing all the time, but she no longer went completely red in the face when he touched her arm or gave her a pat on the back, and she'd finally gotten used to him complimenting her.

Jiraiya stopped in every now and again to check on Naruto's progress and was still amazed at what the kid was able to do, not that he'd ever tell him. Whenever Jiraiya visited he would train him to get better with the toad summons, and they would occasionally do battle. He even showed him how to use a toads summon to create a stronger attack, by combining two jutsu.

When the time came for their first C rank mission Naruto and Sakura were ready. Naruto couldn't comment on Sasuke's progress though as he'd never seen much from him during team trainings and their D rank missions. But the boy had been looking even more unsettled than usual since his argument with Naruto.

As Kakashi and his team exited the village of Konoha with a bridge builder named Tazuna, he could only hope that they were ready for anything.

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**Anyway like I said, don't expect another update until at least the weekend, silly assignment -.- And if you enjoy this so far review, tell me what you like/dislike/what you think should happen. Hey I might even listen to some suggestions if they're good. Just a heads up, Haku will be a chick.**


	4. 4: Sasuke's Insecurities

**Hey guys, would have had this out earlier but had to have someone read it to give me some feedback first. :) Anyway next chapter will be up almost straight after this as I've already written it. Enjoy. Oh and just to clarify, some of you might be thinking that Naruto is a god with what he can do now. Where he's at at the moment he couldn****'t fight a jounin seriously and expect to win. Anyway I'll try and let the chapter explain where he's at with all that. Enjoy :) Also please review, it means alot to hear what people think, even if there is something you don't like, it's nice to get some feedback. Sorry for the rant :P **

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze  
**

**Chapter 4: Sasuke's Insecurities**

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As they walked down the road leading away from the village Kakashi could only marvel at the way his team had changed. Sakura was much less enamored with Sasuke, which he took for a good thing; he couldn't have her getting distracted part way through a mission. What Kakashi didn't know was that it was because of Naruto.

xXx Flashback – A week after their first mission xXx

"Sakura, you have to stop chasing Sasuke," She had just turned up to training with Naruto late, once again because of a hunt for Sasuke, who had unsurprisingly eluded her; she had no idea where he kept going.

"Why? You want me to date you do you? Sorry well it's not going to happen," She said spitefully, thinking of Sasuke, then realizing that it sounded a bit harsh and she blushed, feeling rather bad.

She was surprised when Naruto just laughed, "Hahaha, actually no, I want you to stop going after Sasuke for yourself. You do realize it is hindering your ability to become the shinobi that you have the potential to be. This infatuation with Sasuke, going out of your way to do what you think will make him happy. It is putting you at a disadvantage to every other shinobi who is focused on being a shinobi and staying alive. Start eating properly, start training properly, and start being a shinobi Sakura-chan. I don't want you to date me if you really don't like me. I'm past that, I decided to put aside my feelings for you and get stronger for the sake of myself and everyone around me. If I was always so focused on you I wouldn't be able to focus on progressing myself," At this she was shocked.

Had Naruto really done that? It would explain why she hadn't had any unwanted advances from him, probably why she felt a lot more comfortable around him, but that might have just been the whole teaching thing.

"Easy for you to say, I love Sasuke, and I need to make him happy."

"Sakura, right now there is only one thing that would make Sasuke happy, and there is no way that you can give it to him. He will just keep taking everything you give him and more; your time, your affection, your progress, and he won't give anything in return. For once, put your own wellbeing ahead of his, look out for yourself for a change."

That couldn't be true, not her Sasuke. The more she thought about it though, the more she realized it was true. And she hated that Naruto had pointed it out. For now she'd focus on herself. _But I won't forget you Sasuke _she promised.

Naruto was glad to see that since then Sakura had stopped hunting after Sasuke and focused much harder on progressing herself. She was still crazy about him at team trainings, but her improvement was indicative of her choice.

xXx End Flashback xXx

Not only that but Sakura also seemed to be getting much stronger and it was probably thanks to Naruto.

The academy teachers really didn't give that kid enough credit; when he was driven to do something, whether it was to improve himself or his teammates he'd stop at nothing.

Kakashi still couldn't get a read on what was bothering Sasuke, maybe it was something someone had said to him. He'd have to ask Naruto some time. He couldn't have Sasuke at nothing but one hundred percent, even if this was a C rank mission.

Naruto's progress was crazy, the kid looked as if he was at the peak of physical condition for his age, and it was probably because he had been driving himself into the ground whenever he had the chance to train.

No one knew it but the reason Naruto could increase his physical condition so quickly was because of the Kyuubi's chakra and the rate at which it healed his body. Naruto's muscles and tendons would be healed and regrown almost straight after he'd sent them through hell.

Kakashi noted that he'd probably be able to give Lee a good run for his money in his condition at the moment. The thing that would throw it in Naruto's favour would be his ability to use Ninjutsu.

"What are those things on your arms?" Sasuke asked as the continued down the road; it was the first time he'd seen them. Naruto however had already explained them to Kakashi and their sensei was impressed at his genin's forethought; not that he wasn't impressed with a lot that Naruto Namikaze did.

"They are more or less a distress beacon, if Sakura gets in trouble she can contact me with a burst of chakra through the first seal, and I'll use the second seal to come to her rescue," Naruto smiled as he rubbed the back of his head, "Cool huh? Do you want one?"

"Tch, why would I ever want your help dobe, you'd just get in my way."

_That kid's pride is going to get him killed, hell it might even get his teammates hurt, something needs to be done about it_ Kakashi thought as he shook his head

None of them were impressed with Sasuke's comment, Naruto was still annoyed that Sasuke was still turning down any help he offered, and Sakura was once again forced to doubt Sasuke, only to shrug it off on the fact that Sasuke had had to deal with so much in his life. _**Then why isn't Naruto like Sasuke, he's had it even worse**_ a voice said in the back of her head in contradiction.

"What's with the superiority complex Sasuke? I mean I know all Uchiha's have a stick up their ass, but am I going to have to break you, or will you still not accept my help even when it's blatantly clear that I'm a better shinobi?" Naruto's reply was a bit much but Sasuke's attitude was constantly wearing down his patience.

Sasuke's merely gave him the Patented Uchiha Glare #21.

_**YOU TELL HIM NARUTO!**_ Sakura's inner personality screamed. Sakura was at odds with herself _aren't we supposed to defend Sasuke, what are you doing? __**Come on, I know we love the guy, but that was a dick move!**_

"Guys, enough, this is no way to act in front of a client or on a mission, focus," they all turned to look back towards Kakashi at this before moving on.

They continued in silence until they passed a small puddle on the side of the road. Kakashi was glad to see Sakura slowly move her hand to the chakra pulse seal and notify Naruto that something was off. He gave a nod that he had noticed the subtle genjutsu as well. Kakashi watched as they slowly shifted into better stances in case they came under attack. He noted that the Uchiha "Genius" was the only one to not question why there was a sizeable puddle to the side of the road when it hadn't been raining at all that day.

Kakashi sighed _well at least two of them were paying attention, Sasuke must be too busy brooding, we are going to need to have a long sit down._

Sasuke turned when he heard the clash of kunai. Sakura and Naruto were both engaged with a ninja. Naruto had his tanto out while Sakura had a regular kunai; the enemies were wearing a metal gauntlet that had a chain running between the two. It looked like it could be used for deadly coordination attacks as the chain had razor sharp edges. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen and Sasuke was shocked that their sensei could abandon them.

_That chain could cause us some issues _Naruto thought, coming to the conclusion that Kakashi would have seen the genjutsu and decided to test them.

Quickly pushing off his attacker with surprising strength he spun to the side, channeling wind chakra through his blade and cut straight through one of the links in the chain, rendering it useless. The other ninja saw what happened and released it so it wouldn't get in his way.

Naruto followed up with a series of swift sword strikes that had the ninja retreating, blocking each of the strikes desperately, caught off guard by the small kid's speed. He finished with an overhead strike, forcing the ninja to move to block with the side of his gauntlet. As the blade connected, Naruto channeled a large amount of wind chakra into the blade, honing it to an edge as best he could. The metal of the gauntlet parted like butter before the reinforced attack, severing the ninja's hand at the wrist.

"Gozu!" The other ninja yelled, distracted by his partner's screams. Sakura quickly stepped inside his guard and landed a fight finishing punch on the shinobi's chest. They all heard ribs breaking as he flew off the end of her fist.

Naruto dropped into a low sweep, knocking Gozu's legs out from beneath him while he simultaneously created a clone that appeared above him, knee driving the missing-nin into the ground as he fell.

Needless to say, after the short encounter, neither of the shinobi were able to move.

"Well done you two, that was very impressive. Naruto how long have you been able to manipulate wind chakra like that?" Kakashi appeared in a shun shin behind Sakura and Naruto.

"I've been training it for a while, ever since I found out from ero-sennin that I was a wind type. Hadn't tried it out on anything steel before though, pretty cool huh?"

_You just keep getting more and more surprising Naruto, and Sakura too; she didn't even flinch when they appeared out of the water._

Sasuke quickly hid his shock at the scene and turned, continuing down the road as if nothing happened and stood against a tree while Naruto created two shadow clones and stripped the two men of anything useful. When they were done they picked up the two men and dematerialized.

"Took them back to village; saves someone coming and picking them up," Naruto informed the jounin that had raised his eye at Naruto's clones disappearing.

"Now," Kakashi turned on Tazuna, "would you care to explain why we were just attacked by two missing-nin, the demon brothers to be more precise? What haven't you told us?"

"Yeah old man, having two missing-nin attack us isn't the norm of a C-rank. If we weren't on the ball we might have almost gotten killed! We could have frozen up like Sasuke-teme over there," Within seconds Sakura's Sasuke defenses kicked in and he had a fist slammed into the top of his head.

"What'd you do that for!? YOUR HITS ACTUALLY HURT!"

**Yeah what'd you do that for! He was RIGHT! **

_GAHHH I don't even know anymore_ Sakura thought as she walked up to a tree and in her bout of inner turmoil head butted it so hard that it left a sizeable impression.

"Hmph, maybe that big forehead is good for something, tch not like you're good for anything else." Sasuke was at the point of taking low blows in trying to get his confidence up after seeing Sakura and Naruto floor those two ninja.

Kakashi was reminded of someone eerily familiar as she stormed over to Sasuke in her blind anger and hit him square in the jaw, sending him flying further down the road. Almost as soon as she did this she screamed after him, checking to see if he was okay and professing her love for him.

"Women huh?" The remaining spectators chorused.

"I HEARD THAT! I'M COMING FOR YOU THREE NEXT!"

Naruto balked and disappeared in a shunshin. Kakashi looked a little wary but was still laughing at the way Naruto disappeared.

"Way to act manly Naruto, hahaha running from a girl."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, I TAUGHT HER HOW TO HIT LIKE TSUNADE!" a voice could be heard echoing through the forest. Naruto knew who Tsunade was after going through his library and talking to Jiraiya about the Sannin. She was the inspiration for using his chakra to greatly improve the impact behind his hits.

This time it was Kakashi's turn to balk as he disappeared, "Sorry Tazuna, but you know you shouldn't make derogatory comments about women, IT WAS HIM SAKURA, IT WAS ALL HIM!" another voice echoed from Kakashi's hiding place in the forest.

"Oh shut up you cowards, don't we have a mission to get back to?" Sakura seemed to have calmed down a little after hitting Sasuke in her rage, and they all decided to gather around Tazuna.

"Well, "The old man quickly began, horrified after the strange scene that had played out, and afraid of what would happen if he didn't tell them what they wanted to know. He continued to spill the beans on everything that had happened to the Land of Waves since Gato started taking over.

"Gato's likely hired more ninja, are you sure you want to continue team? We could send for reinforcements?"

"We haven't been training for nothing Kakashi-sensei. I don't want to waste man-power for something that could be handled by ourselves, it wouldn't give our team a very good reputation, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah Naruto-kun is right we should keep going."

"What the dobe said."

"I guess it's settled then, let's go, we need to make up some time."

xXx

It wasn't long until they noticed a mist creeping in around their feet. Before long it was so thick that it was hard to even see.

"Okay, this is ridiculous," Naruto performed a series of hand seals before "**Fūton: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthough)."

A huge gust of air burst forth from his hand and cleared the fog in front of them, revealing the cause to be a man with a massive cleaver like blade casually strolling toward them; it wasn't long before the mist began to settle back into its previous position, shrouding their vision.

"Well that didn't do mu-"

"Everyone protect Tazuna, and it didn't do much because that's – DUCK!"

Everyone hit the floor just quickly enough to avoid being scalped by the huge iron blade that swung over their heads. There hadn't even been a warning as to its approach.

"Our opponent is The Demon of the Hidden Mist Zabuza Momochi, stay alert," and with that he disappeared in a blur.

_And that's why Kakashi is our sensei; that would have cut me in half!_ Naruto thought, actually worried about the outcome of this fight. This guy was obviously not a pushover, and the killing intent washing them over wasn't doing him any favors.

No, he couldn't let it overcome him and his teammates. Fear would get him killed. He resolved himself to never back down. He would complete the mission and protect his teammates.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke, frozen as he stood next to Tazuna; Sakura wasn't doing much better, her confidence slipping. He could see the fear in their eyes as they looked around. He needed to calm them down before Zabuza took another swing at the three of them.

They wouldn't survive another attack in the state they were in.

"Guys, snap out of it. We can take this guy, we've got Kakashi-sensei to look after us. Keep focused on the mission," he barely kept his voice from shaking as he quietly tried to get them to focus.

They could hear clashes coming from all sides, no doubt Kakashi trying to keep Zabuza at bay.

"Let's get out of here, we need to keep Tazuna safe," Naruto needed to get out of this mist. Sure he could escape danger if he knew it was coming. But with this mist in the air he had no way of knowing where the next strike was coming from.

He heard a whistling as he turned and saw a blade arcing through the air once again. There was no time for a response, it was heading straight at him with vicious speed, and he couldn't flash away because the only nearby seal was Sakura. Jumping to her would result in the same outcome being that they were standing almost back-to-back and he couldn't run from the fight all together; he had to protect Tazuna.

He tried to bring a kunai up in time to meet the blade, hoping that it would stop it's advance somewhat but was saved from the assault when Kakashi blurred in front of him at the last second, blocking the blade and forcing Zabuza away from them.

It wasn't before long though that the mist started to clear, "RUN!" Kakashi was yelling at his team, having been trapped within a water prison.

Zabuza obviously didn't consider the genin enough of a challenge to warrant the continued use of **Kirigakure no Jutsu** (Hiding in the mist technique).

"Tazuna won't survive this Kakashi," Zabuza glared at the three genin as a water clone emerged from the water. What can three genin do against one of my clones, run along and leave that old man to me and I might be inclined to spare you." _Tazuna is as good as dead_ Zabuza was elated that it'd been so easy to capture Kakashi and complete his mission.

"If you think it'll be so easy to get past us, think again!" Naruto was trying to get everyone's confidence up. If he wasn't using that mist technique he was sure he could at least put up enough of a fight for the others to get Kakashi out.

Sakura was emboldened by this, "Yeah just because we are small doesn't mean your clone can defeat us!" and with that they spread out a little between Tazuna and the water clone.

"The Uchiha over there doesn't seem so confident."

The clone rushed Sasuke, intent on rending him in two. Naruto had deactivated his weight seals the moment the trouble had started, but even he was surprised at the speed the clone moved now that he could see.

He looked over at Sasuke and saw him lock up, looking death in the eyes.

Naruto put everything he had in just making it there in time. Surging chakra through his legs just to close the distance, he brought his tanto around to stop the massive cleaver like blade that was coming down from above.

There was no way he could stop that strike that dead on; deflecting the blade he took his attention away from the situation for a moment "Get it together Sasuke, we need you to foc-."

While he was trying to get Sasuke to snap out of it the clone had taken the opening to punch him in the gut with his free hand with such force that it put Naruto on his knees blinking tears out of his eyes.

He could only watch as the blade came down again, only this time for him. Sasuke was still coming out of his stupor and if he flashed away it wouldn't stop the blade from coming down on his teammate. He tried to bring his blade around once again but was too slow.

There was a loud clang as Sakura's hand bounced off the sword, sending it flying out of the clone's hand and sticking into a tree. Naruto saw his chance when the clone lashed out at the female genin, pushing her away and making his way for the sword. Naruto flung his hand out, burying a Hiraishin kunai slightly higher in the tree; while doing so he took a few steps forward from his crouching position as he stood up and gained momentum.

The clone never saw it coming. He grabbed the hilt of the sword, turned back to the look at the three genin and smirked. Unfortunately for the copy, the smirk didn't survive Naruto planting his knee squarely into the side of his head as he reappeared, flying through the air above the sword.

The clone dissolved into water along with the sword, and with that Naruto turned his attention to the real Zabuza, who was still currently shocked at what he'd just seen.

Quickly pulling his kunai from the tree and walking over to the others, he made sure to see if Sakura was okay. Luckily Sasuke had just snapped out of it.

"Okay guys, I think I can get this guy away from Kakashi, make sure you stay alert, it's up to you to protect Tazuna."

"So it looks like at least one of your runts has some talent Kakashi,"

"You wouldn't believe it even if I told you,"

Naruto rushed Zabuza, he knew that to keep the water prison up he needed to stay in contact with the orb, otherwise why hadn't he moved yet?

Sending a Hiraishin Kunai directly at Zabuza's head, the large ninja was forced to dodge. This gave Naruto the chance he needed to get behind his deadly opponent. Flashing to the Hiraishin as soon as it had passed forced Zabuza to turn to deal with the immediate threat.

There was no way he could deal with the genin without releasing the water prison. He dove away from the prison to avoid a point blank tanto strike. As soon as he was on his feet though he was going through hand seals. Naruto made to cut him off, "Naruto, stop, let me handle this, get back and protect Tazuna" He turned to Kakashi to see that his sensei was copying every single seal that Zabuza was making even as he was making them.

_The power of the sharingan really is incredible _Naruto thought as he flashed back over to Sakura so that he wouldn't get in the way of the fight between two shinobi that still clearly outclassed him.

It wasn't before long that Zabuza and Kakashi summoned massive water constructs in the shape of dragons that charged at each other. Both were pretty badly injured in the bout but Zabuza was easily the worse off out of the two. Before Kakashi could finish him off however a mysterious shinobi appeared in a porcelain mask, claiming that they were a hunter nin from Kirigakure and would be taking the corpse back to the village.

As they all gathered themselves around Tazuna, with Naruto picking up Kakashi he turned to Sasuke.

"Sooo, Sasuke, are you actually going to do anything on this mission, or did you just come along to watch? I mean I don't mind doing your job for you," Naruto said light heartedly, a huge grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. And with that they continued on to Tazuna's house.

Naruto could almost feel the stare boring into the back of his head as he carried the exhausted and injured Kakashi to their destination.

They arrived at Tazuna's house late in the afternoon and were greeted by a very attractive woman, and a small sullen child. The two were Tsunami, and Inari, Tazuna's daughter and grandson.

After they settled in and greeted the two Kakashi informed the team that he didn't think that Zabuza was dead. He told them he would try and prepare them over the next few days as best he could for if Zabuza tried to take Tazuna's life again.

xXx

The next day Kakashi took them into the forest before Tazuna left to work on the bridge.

"Okay team, I think today we'll start working on some chakra control exercises, how does wall walking sound?" Kakashi enquired to the group, ready to teach them something he thought would amaze them, not having seen Sakura or Naruto have to use it during team trainings. He'd figured that Naruto could do it, but he thought at least that Sakura might not know how. Guess he was just surprising Sasuke then.

"Ummmm, Sakura and I can already do that Kakashi-sensei, we've been sparring on water lately to practice chakra control, we've been working on it for a while." Sakura just nodded in agreement as Naruto deflated their teacher.

"Well, that's a bummer," his whole training plan was shot; guess he'd need to think of something else to teach them.

"Yeah right dobe, as if. How could you do something like that without Kakashi-sensei teaching you?" Sasuke still didn't believe that Naruto could do the things he claimed, even after everything he'd seen.

In response Naruto just looked at him blankly as he proceeded to jump towards a tree and stick to the side of it.

"It's called reading a book Sasuke, and teaching yourself," Sakura tried to explain to the moody teen.

"You really didn't think I'd be able to Hiraishin without the rudimentary chakra control it takes to walk up a tree did you?"

"Well it can't be that hard if you can do it," Sasuke proceeded to sprint at the tree in his confidence. He made it a few steps due to his momentum before he fell harshly back onto the ground.

"It's not that simple Sasuke, try channeling your chakra to your feet for starte–"

"Shut up Sakura, I don't need any help from a pathetic fangirl, and the dead last of the academy," Sasuke spat, furious that he was still playing catch up with Naruto and Sakura, how had they improved so much?

Sakura was hurt. She began to tear up as Naruto walked down the tree and took her to the side. Sasuke was being even nastier than usual, what'd she do wrong?

"Let's go train somewhere else Sakura, we wouldn't want to get in the big-shot's way," Naruto said as he put an arm around her shoulder and began walking with her further into the forest.

"I don't have anything specific to train you guys, so you just do what you normally would. You Sasuke, you can practice wall walking, and you'd be wise to listen to Naruto and Sakura once in a while, they know what they are doing."

"I won't! If I accept their help then how will I ever be strong enough to take revenge by myself?"

"Well what they said was true Sasuke, channel chakra to the soles of your feet to stick to a surface. I'll leave a clone to watch you guys, I have to go protect Tazuna now." Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Over with Naruto Sakura was crying.

"What'd I do Naruto-kun?" Sasuke had been even coarser with her and the others since the encounter with the demon brothers.

"You didn't do anything Sakura-chan. He's jealous of what we can do, and he thinks that he can be just as strong without anyone's help. It has something to do with his quest for revenge. There is nothing we can do about it now but get stronger."

"B-b-but if I get stronger then he'll hate me even more!" Sakura was appalled that all her hard work over the past two months had been good for only getting Sasuke to hate her.

"Sakura-chan, look at me," Naruto placed his hand under her chin, turning her head towards him, "Don't let Sasuke put you off becoming a great shinobi. Remember what I told you. We will make him realize that to be the greatest we can be means we sometimes have to get help from others, now let's start our training for the day okay?"

He got a nod from the distraught genin and they both fell into sparring, but her spirit just wasn't in it so he called it a day on that idea. Instead they both sat, trying to get a number of leaves to stick to different parts of their body. Naruto had created a large number of clones to go and practice trying to cut into trees with wind chakra.

As much as he had improved since the academy, Naruto still had a lot of work to do with his chakra manipulation. He had improved, that was evident, and the result of that was his ability to perform jutsu like the **Hiraishin** **no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique) and the **Rasengan** (Spiraling orb). But his chakra control wasn't perfect so he was using way too much chakra than he should, hence why he was sitting with Sakura as they practiced that particular facet of their chakra control.

They trained the rest of the day, and went inside to have dinner. As they were sitting at the table, Inari glaring at the four shinobi, Kakashi turned to his students, "So Sasuke, you should keep up with that training tomorrow, maybe Sakura or Naruto might give you a few pointers."

"Tch, whatever," Naruto could feel the patented Uchiha glare #24 boring into the top of his head as he looked at his dinner.

"And, Sakura, Naruto, what did you end up training today?"

"Nothing much sensei, we just worked on getting better chakra control; we'll probably start working on techniques tomorrow," Naruto had to finish a mouthful of food before responding with a smile.

"Okay, that's it. Dobe, outside right now." Sasuke stood up from his position at the table and walked toward the door.

"What do you want Sasuke?"

"I want to fight you," he said coolly before crossing the threshold.

As Naruto got up to follow him, Kakashi grabbed his arm, "Are you sure this is a good idea."

"I need to teach him a lesson sensei, he won't learn it any other way. Don't worry though, I won't beat him up too bad," as he got to the door he turned back, "Actually, I have an even better idea, Sakura-chan come with me please."

Knowing to trust in Naruto by now she got up and walked with him outside, leaving Kakashi to follow, lest he let one of his students get injured while he wasn't keeping an eye on them.

Sasuke was standing outside in a fighting stance ready to face off with Naruto. He was sorely disappointed when Naruto pushed Sakura forward instead.

"What's the meaning of this dobe?"

"Yeah what are you trying to do" Sakura said turning back to her friend and sensei.

"Apparently Sasuke is having difficulty grasping that sometimes you need the help of the people that care about you in order to improve. So I thought I'd prove it to him by having him face off with someone he could have sleepwalked through two months ago, but who is now a bonafide Uchiha ass kicking machine. Namely you," He grinned, and pointed at Sakura as she stood there white in the face.

"B-b-but I can't hur-"

"Sakura-chan," Naruto beckoned her close and lowered his voice, "you have to do this for Sasuke, don't hold back, even though you feel the way you do. Beat him, and show him what accepting someone's help can do for you. It's the only way he'll listen to reason. Do it to help him. And don't hold back, I know he won't."

Sakura turned back to her crush. She knew what she had to do. She had to help Sasuke.

"You can't be serious dobe."

"Don't underestimate her Sasuke-teme, now you wanted to fight, well fight."

Sakura was the first to make a move, rushing to within striking range with a much-improved speed over the old academy Sakura. As they engaged in a small taijutsu exchange Kakashi leaned over to Naruto.

"You really think she can take Sasuke?"

"She may not look it but she's improved a lot. Sure her taijutsu may not be up to scratch against Sasuke, but she has great chakra control. I asked Jiraiya if he might teach her some rudimentary earth style techniques, as earth is the element she has an affinity with. He could only show her the basics, but we've been working on them since. This will be close I think. Sasuke has too much confidence in himself, that or denial but either way it'll work to Sakura's advantage," Naruto responded in a low voice.

The two fighting genin broke apart for a second before Sakura sought cover in the tree line that ran almost up to the back of the house. Sasuke went to follow but was soon forced to stop as five Sakura's appeared from behind the nearest tree all brandishing kunai ready to throw. He quickly went to strike each of them, only to have them fade away as he got close.

_So where's the real one?_ Looking around all Sasuke could see was trees.

The next thing he knew he was face first on the ground. The real Sakura had dropped onto him from above, after having created the clones and run straight up the other side of the tree.

Sasuke was angry that a pathetic whiny girl had jumped him. Spinning up from the ground he knocked her off him and she rolled away. As he stood up, Kakashi's eyes widened as he went through a series of handseals. They went even wider when Naruto put is hand across to stop him from doing anything.

Sasuke finished his seals and inhaled deeply "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)".

Sakura's was shocked at the technique Sasuke would use against her but responded accordingly; she went through a quick series of hand seals "**Doton: Doryūheki **(Earth Release: Earth Style Wall).

Before the oversized fireball could do her any harm, a solid wall of earth projected up out of the ground, protecting her from the blast.

What Sasuke didn't see from his side of the blast, through the smoke and rubble was Sakura perform another jutsu. When the area cleared she was completely gone. He saw the wall come up so he knew she hadn't been killed, or burnt to ashes, he knew his fireball technique wasn't that strong yet anyway. So where was she. _Where did she go?_

Before long his question was answered as he stood warily waiting for her to show her face. He never expected for her hands to shoot out of the ground and latch around his ankles.

What was even more surprising was when the earth beneath his feet softened and he was pulled into the ground up to his shoulders. With just his arms, head and a fraction of his torso above the ground he couldn't attack her when she resurfaced next to Naruto and Kakashi looking a little exhausted.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" Sasuke was again enraged that he'd been outdone by Sakura.

"That was the **Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu** (Hiding Like a Mole Technique), pretty cool huh?" She was happy that she'd been able to defeat Sasuke, it meant that she really was improving a great deal as a shinobi, she turned to Naruto, "Wow that really took it out of me, guess I still need to keep up training my chakra reserves."

"You bet Sakura. Now," he said as he walked over to Sasuke who was still trying to pull himself out of the now rock solid ground and pointed to Sakura, "that, is what happens when you let people who care about you help you Sasuke. You improve. You have to be able to accept help from those closest to you if you want to be the best that you can be. Would you even care if any of us were to die on this mission right now Sasuke, because we all would. Apart from letting people who care about us help us, we care about them too. We draw our strength from wanting to protect them. And none of us would let anything happen to each other if we were alive to do something about it. Sakura was able to do what she just did because of her drive to try and help you Sasuke, to protect you from yourself, from your pride. To show you that you sometimes need to let others help you. Maybe one day you'll realize that true strength doesn't come from hatred and a mission of revenge, but the drive to protect those that are precious to you."

"HE TOOK EVERYONE THAT WAS PRECIOUS TO ME!" Sasuke screamed from his position in the ground.

"I lost everyone that would have been precious to me Sasuke, yet I've found precious people in my life, my team, my friends, my village even. They are all things that I draw strength from in my mission to be the best that I can be. We are all waiting for you to see that Sasuke."

"Sasuke," Kakashi was concerned for his student, "This revenge you seek won't make you happy. Be better than the man that killed your family. Make your own life for yourself, set yourself down a different path. Because the path you are on is the one that he wants you on. Don't give your brother that satisfaction Sasuke."

"Sasuke-kun, we all care for you. Even Naruto, otherwise he would never have offered to help you and wouldn't be trying to help you now. Can't you realize that you are precious to us?"

"I want to become a shinobi that would make my parents proud, don't you want to as well?" Naruto looked down at the struggling genin who had tears in his eyes and walked away into the forest to lie down. He didn't feel like going back inside, after what had just transpired he needed to relax.

Sakura pulled Sasuke out of the ground and after getting a glare that told her he wanted to be alone left after Naruto.

Sasuke walked over to a tree sitting down beneath it with his head in his hands, trying to blink away the tears that were just now starting to pour down his face. Could it be true? Everything they said seemed to make sense, and it was this fact that had Sasuke in tears of both sorrow and anger. What would happen if he decided to accept their help? What would happen if he continued in his quest for revenge? Sasuke sat, inner turmoil on display for Kakashi as he wept.

His sensei just took a seat against a nearby tree and waited with his eyes closed as his student tried to work everything out. _I really hope you can see the truth of our words Sasuke, I really do _

The next time Sasuke looked up tears were pouring from a pair of blood red eyes.

xXx

"Did we really do the right thing Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked as the walked through the woods.

"We did the only thing we could Sakura-chan, and we have to keep trying until he realizes what is wrong," putting an arm the distraught girl and giving her a one armed hug he continued, "You fought great out there tonight by the way. It was great to see how much you've improved."

"Thanks Naruto-kun," she hugged him back before they settled down in a small clearing and lay down, looking up at the stars.

"I really hope that we get through to him Naruto-kun."

"So do I Sakura-chan."

They lay watching the stars for a while before Sakura got back up to head to the house and a comfortable bed.

"Goodnight Sakura-chan," Naruto said from his position on the the gound, "I think I'm going to lay here for a bit longer."

"Goodnight Naruto-kun, thank you for everything."


	5. 5: The Bridge

**Hey guys, so this is slightly shorter than the previous chapters, just closes things up in the land of waves :) Enjoy. Just a heads up I uploaded two at once so if you haven't read chapter 4 go back and do that first :P**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 5: The Bridge**

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When Naruto awoke the next morning he was greeted with a sight he hadn't expected to see. There was a beautiful female ninja strolling across the field toward him.

He knew she was a ninja from the fact that she was making almost no sound as she walked; ninja had a habit of doing that wherever they went, civilians, not so much.

Tensing when she saw him open his eyes she flicked a senbon into her hand.

"I know you're a shinobi," Naruto said, "but I don't want to fight you."

"How can I trust you," her sweet voice drifted over to him.

"From the looks of it you could have killed me from a distance with that senbon while I slept. You didn't so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Now that I'm awake however you'd be hard-pressed to actually kill me anyway. What's your name, because I'm Uzumaki Naruto," He had a sheepish grin on his face, and yawned, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

Haku was unsure of what to do. She could have killed him while he slept but that just hadn't felt right. He had looked so peaceful from where she was standing. He didn't seem threatening now that he was awake so she guessed she could go along with it, as long as she got these supplies back to Zabuza, "I'm Haku."

"So what are you out here gathering herbs for Haku?" Naruto enquired innocently, trying to lighten the mood.

"They are for someone very close to me; they were injured and these are going to help them get better."

"Well do you want a hand gathering them? I could make your job a lot easier," A number of clones appeared before Haku could object and began searching through the woods and clearing for the herbs that Haku needed, "Now sit down," Naruto said with a smile.

"But I-"

"No buts, come on and sit down, my clones will still get the herbs you need, don't worry."

"Okay," she said sitting down opposite from him, still wary of what he was doing.

For a while they explained pleasantries, with Naruto explaining that he was a going to be Hokage one day and protect the village, then out of nowhere he asked a rather unexpected question.

"So Haku, is Zabuza recovering well enough?"

She flinched, not knowing how the boy who was only just younger than she was had figured it out.

"Calm down, like I said I don't want to fight," Naruto tried to defuse the situation before she could take any action against him.

"I could tell you were a ninja from the way you walked, you said you needed to help someone who was close to you, you use senbon, and you have the same build as a hunter-nin that carried away one supposedly dead Zabuza, your facial twitch just then confirmed my suspicions. Don't worry, like I said I don't want to cause you any harm. We both have our missions; it just so happens that they oppose each other. I'll hold no grudge against you for it, but I do hope we can get through this with as little bloodshed as possible."

All Haku could do was nod in response. She didn't know what it was about this kid she liked, but she knew that he wasn't going to hurt her while she sat there with him. He was too sincere.

As Naruto's clones walked back over each with a pile of herbs he got up.

"Well here are your herbs Haku, I have to get back to my team, I just want you to know that even if I don't want bloodshed I'll still protect my team with everything that I have."

"So is that where you get your strength from? From willing to do anything to protect those close to you?"

Naruto nodded before disappearing.

"Me too Naruto. I guess next time we meet we'll see whose desire to protect is stronger."

xXx

Naruto appeared next to Sakura, having used her seal as a beacon for his Hiraishin no Jutsu.

"Where have you been?" Sakura look concerned as she worked on improving her earth release; he could hear Sasuke trying to still climb a tree not too far from them, "Kakashi figured you'd be okay and had to head off to defend Tazuna, but where were you?"

"Same place I was when you left me last night, I fell asleep hehehe," He rubbed the back of his head a little embarrassed, "And then I met the hunter-nin that I now know saved Zabuza's life, we didn't talk for long, but she seemed nice enough."

"WHAT?" Sakura screeched, "You didn't have to fight her or anything?"

"Well no, that's not part of our mission, and I'd rather not have to hurt people if I can get away with it. She could have most likely killed me as I slept but didn't, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. It wasn't like she didn't know who I was."

"Okay, well as long as you are safe Naruto-kun; at least now we know that Zabuza will probably make another attempt at Tazuna's life." Naruto nodded, "Anyway now that you're here let's get back to training," Sakura smiled, looking forward to the day ahead.

They were surprised when Sasuke approached them halfway through the day looking as downcast as ever, a hint of frustration glinting in his eyes when he turned his head toward them.

"What do you want now Sasuke-teme, I don't want to fight you, I'm training with Sakura-chan." Naruto said sizing up the Uchiha.

"Actually, I wanted to ask if you could help me with wall-walking," Naruto could tell just by looking at him that it was taking all of Sasuke's effort to suppress his pride just to walk over and ask that simple question.

"Sure no problem," Naruto said with a sincere smile as he created a number of clones to go and offer the young Uchiha instruction, "These guys will let you know what you might be doing wrong.

As Sasuke walked away with the clones, Naruto turned back to Sakura, "Maybe we're finally getting the message across?" he said hopefully before they both smiled at the small change that they'd made in Sasuke.

By the end of the day Sasuke had finally gotten the hang of wall walking, and had started going through light sparring exercises with Naruto's clones. Kakashi was pleased by the progress that the Uchiha had made and was even more impressed that he'd asked for help.

Naruto explained that tomorrow he'd teach the Uchiha water walking if he wanted the help. Surprisingly enough he accepted.

The next day when Sakura was off training with a Naruto clone in the woods, Sasuke was standing with the real Naruto at the edge of the water near the house.

"Okay Sasuke, you seemed to pick up wall walking pretty quickly with our pointers. Water walking however is fairly difficult in that you have to adjust the amount of chakra sent to your feet constantly in order to stay afloat, as opposed to the constant level you send to your feet in wall-walking. You should get the hang of it pretty easily, but we'll start you out on the shallow water."

It took Sasuke most of the day to get the hang of the technique but by the end of the day he was slowly edging out further and further over deeper water. Naruto slowly started throwing stones at him to try and break his focus but the Uchiha was a fast learner and very rarely fell in after that exercise; until Naruto did something completely unexpected.

He called out to the Uchiha to get his attention, but when Sasuke looked up to find his friend he went white in the face and a small amount of blood trickled from his nose.

There standing before him was a gorgeous brunette that looked about 18 years old. She was the epitome of perfect with just the right amount of ridiculous curves, and she was completely naked save for the smoke that surrounded her chest and pelvic region.

Sasuke probably would have passed out from the nosebleed he would have received had Naruto not bothered with the smoke. It was easily enough to break his concentration and send him plummeting into the drink. When he resurfaced Naruto was on rolling around in his original form in a laughing fit.

Over in the trees Kakashi's hidden shadow clone had passed out on the ground from lack of blood and dispelled.

xXx

On the bridge everyone was quite confused as to why the Konoha jounin had rocketed down the length of the bridge with a torrent of blood pouring from his nose and proceeded to pass out from blood loss.

xXx

Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the tactic employed by his teammate, even if it had gotten him soaking wet.

"You're such a pervert dobe,"

"How am I the pervert Sasuke-teme, you're the one that got the nosebleed. Bahahahahaha," Naruto was trying to talk in between fits of laughter.

"How could anyone but a pervert come up with that move?"

Naruto could see his logic, but it only made him laugh harder. What was even better was that Sasuke seemed to be genuinely smiling for once.

"Okay, enough joking around. Get back to throwing rocks at me," Sasuke said as he slowly and steadily pulled himself out of the water.

"Okay, Sasuke-kun," A soft female voice echoed across the water as the now brunette sex-bomb started throwing rocks at the genin, and it wasn't long before all the smoke had cleared.

Needless to say Sasuke had never had a stranger training session. Jumping across the top of the water while dodging rocks with a constant stream of blood streaming down his face. The fact he wasn't falling in this time was the only consolation he could give himself.

It was all fun and games until Sakura arrived back on the shore and saw what was happening.

She spent the next half an hour chasing Naruto around trying to beat the living daylights out of him while Sasuke just laughed at the scene.

When she realized she couldn't catch Naruto-kun she stormed out onto the water and started chasing Sasuke. WHY WAS HER SASUKE-KUN A PERVERT! The nosebleed hadn't gone unnoticed.

Over the next few days Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura bonded more as a team, Sasuke slowly getting over some of his hang-ups. They worked on team combinations using their jutsu.

Naruto and Sasuke even tried to combine their flame and wind techniques **Fūton: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthough) and **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) to destructive effect, both agreeing that they would only use that combination on someone they really hated. It's destructive power was easily enough to incinerate a small portion of the forest when they used it.

One night as they were sitting at the table, Inari had finally had enough. He hated these ninja and told them that what they were trying was futile and that they should give up. A short yet fiery retort from Naruto about how little respect for quitters he had and how he and Sasuke were still going strong after everything they'd been through shut the kid up as he ran outside.

"Sorry Kakashi, but it needed to be said," he stood and went upstairs to sleep.

They trained throughout the week, preparing for the attack they knew was going to come now that they knew Zabuza was alive.

As the week progressed they knew Zabuza would be gaining strength. For this reason Kakashi started taking Sakura with him to help protect the bridge, that way they could all be on the scene in seconds thanks to Naruto's Hiraishin no Jutsu.

And so one morning as Naruto and Sasuke trained outside the small house Naruto felt the familiar chakra pulse in his arm. He turned to Sasuke, "Looks like they need us on the bridge Sasuke-teme."

"Well get us over there,"

Naruto created a few clones before walking over to Sasuke, "Guys, keep Tsunami and Inari safe, and don't let them out of your sight. Gato might have men come after them," and with that Sasuke and Naruto disappeared.

xXx

When they appeared on the bridge they couldn't see five feet in the thick mist. They appeared next to Sakura, and could hear Kakashi and Zabuza talking.

"So the brat that was talking to my Haku is finally here," Zabuza said, hearing them arrive through the mist, "That's a pretty handy technique he's got there."

"That's only the half of it Zabuza," Kakashi was standing between the three genin and Zabuza, ready to fight the missing-nin.

"You don't need to let your genin get killed Kakashi, I might be inclined to spare you all if you just let me have Tazuna."

"Never!" Naruto wasn't going to fail his mission; he liked the old man, as much of a drunk as he was.

"Your funeral kid, Haku, take care of Tazuna."

Naruto could barely see what was in front of him, but at the last second he saw a movement in the mist and managed to bring a Hiraishin kunai up in time to deflect the senbon that was heading straight for the old man.

"Guys we need to get out of this mist," Naruto urged his team backwards toward the completed end of the bridge trying to catch a glimpse of his opponent.

Haku made a few attempts to stop them but was thwarted by the three as they protected the bridge builder. She finally emerged from the mist as they all now stood in the open.

"You have to come to us, so let's see how you fight without that mist," Naruto was confident that he could take whatever this girl could throw at him.

_Just what I expected from him, he was observant enough to work out who I was, it's no surprise he changed the battlefield to give him the advantage._

"It's no matter, I'll complete this mission for Zabuza-sama if it's the last thing I do."

Naruto was a little confused with the way Haku talked about Zabuza but figured there was some personal reason behind the honorific.

They all stood tense, waiting to see who would make the first move while the sound of metal striking metal echoed from their sensei's conflict.

It was Naruto who acted first, trying to test the waters as he threw regular kunai at the missing-nin. She dodged them easily before responded with a barrage of accurate senbon.

Unfortunately he had to try and block most of them as stepping out of the way would put Tazuna in danger. A few of them made it past his guard and struck him in the chest. He didn't feel any pain though and when he looked realized that the three he didn't avoid had struck a storage scroll he kept in his coat.

The storage scroll that happened to contain his Hiraishin Kunai was the one that had taken the hits. He figured that after taking three senbon straight through the center any seal he had on the scroll wasn't going to be working. Guess he was stuck with the few Hiraishin kunai he kept on his person.

He needed to take up Sasuke's habit and store them in a bracer or something; he'd work that out if he made it through this fight.

"Guys, protect Tazuna I need to keep Haku away from you guys," With that he disappeared in a blur and was on the offensive, striking at Haku with his Hiraishin as he kept her from attacking the bridge builder.

She deftly deflected each of his strikes with her senbon before dropping down and attempting to take out his knees before he could react.

Naruto flipped his Hiraishin kunai into the air, sending it spinning above her and at the moment she'd fully committed to her senbon strike at his knee he disappeared, reappearing above and behind her, falling down in the perfect position to strike.

Haku responded by turning from her lowered position and using the momentum from her failed attack to spin around. Just as Naruto's feet began to touch the ground and he brought his kunai down she kicked her leg out, sweeping his feet from under him.

He stuck his arm out to stop his fall and brought his own foot around at the side of her head as she was still in a crouched position. Blocking this with her left forearm but feeling the power of the kick she was shaken; and retreated for the moment to get some space and rethink her approach.

This time though when they broke apart she was now between him and Tazuna. Not willing to take any more chances with Naruto and his ability to seemingly teleport Haku went through a short series of hand seals before any of the genin could respond.

An ice mirror formed behind Haku, preventing Naruto's approach, but he could see another mirror forming behind Tazuna. _This can't be good_ Naruto thought when he saw what appeared to be the reflection of Haku appear in that mirror, reaching out for the old man.

Naruto was next to Tazuna in the blink of an eye, thanks to the seal on Sakura, deflecting the senbon that the missin-nin was projecting towards his brainstem.

Having had her attack thwarted by the strange blonde she took the opportunity to attack his black haired teammate, the only one of three not guarded.

He had his newly acquired sharingan active but it didn't help him stop the attack that came at him so quickly.

Two senbon struck him in the neck, while three hit him in the chest and in an instant Haku was emerging from her first mirror.

Sasuke stumbled, the Sharingan in his eyes flickering as he fell. Naruto managed to catch him before he hit the ground and quickly removed the needles before setting him down.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!"

"I'm afraid he won't be waking up again, I'm sorry but I cannot let anyone stand in the way of Zabuza-sama's goal."

Naruto checked the Uchiha's vitals and was shocked to find them deteriorating rapidly, he could barely feel his pulse.

"NO SAKURA DON'T!" It was already too late; in her anger at Haku over what she'd done Sakura had charged the senbon wielding kunoichi.

It put her on the defensive for a second before Haku jumped back and went through a series of hand seals again, "**Makyō Hyōshō** (Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals). A large number of the ice crystals appeared surrounding Sakura. _No, this is bad_ Naruto though as he looked between Tazuna, Sakura and Sasuke.

He was about to Hiraishin to Sakura to get her out of what looked to be a death trap but saw at the last second Haku throwing senbon from the mirror that was still behind Tazuna; the old man frozen in fear during the whole fight.

Naruto cursed, rushing toward the old man and pushing him out of the line of fire just before the projectiles would have killed him.

As he did so he flung one of his kunai at the ground and disappeared, but it was too late. In saving Tazuna he'd given Haku enough time to launch an attack at Sakura. By the time he arrived by her side, even if it was just mere seconds, the girl was riddled with senbon and looked to be just holding on to her life.

He flashed back to the kunai he'd just previously left on the bridge and tried to place her on the ground as comfortably as he could.

"Don't worry Sakura, hold on, I'll keep you safe. I'll keep you safe," Naruto had tears running down his face as his eyes flickered red, and his fingernails grew into claws.

**Yes boy, draw on my power, YOU NEED IT TO TAKE REVENGE ON THAT ICE BITCH, without it you'll never save your friends!** He could hear a strange gruff voice in the back of his head. He disappeared into his mindscape, letting the rage take over.

Growling, the enraged Naruto disappeared in a red blur, intent on rending Haku in two. The killing intent washing over everyone was enough to force Tazuna to his knees.

xXx

(Tazuna's House)

As the three Naruto's sat in the trees around the house they heard two men walking down the road.

"Hahahaha those ninja won't know what hit them. Gato's plan is brilliant, how about we celebrate our success today by having our way with that hot MILF Tsunami? That bitch is fiinneee," One of the sword-wielding thugs was saying to the other.

"Only if I get to go first, we can even make that little brat watch, hahahahaha,"

"I'm afraid that won't be happening today; or ever for that matter," One of Naruto's clones said as it dropped down in front of him.

"What does a little runt like you think you can do to stop us."

"Oh nothing. Just this maybe," and with that the other two clones emerged from either side with chains made of chakra extended from their hands. Within seconds the thugs were bound to a tree and the head clone was standing in front of them.

"Now you are going to tell me everything I want to know about Gato's plan, or –"

"Or what? What are you going to do you little shit," One of the thugs still had a little confidence.

"I'm going to cut off your balls and make you eat them, because rapists are scum," and as Naruto dropped the pants of one who had spoken and twirled a kunai in his hand they spilled every one of their dirty little secrets.

xXx

Naruto was destroying Haku. He had broken all of her mirrors, and was overwhelming her with his feral taijustsu as he raged about the fate of his teammates.

He was about to make the killing blow on the missing-nin when images flashed into his head; memories from one of his clones. His clawed hand stopped inches away from her face.

**WHAT ARE YOU DOING! TAKE REVENGE, FINISH HER, USE THE POWER THAT I'VE GIVEN YOU! **_No, this doesn't need to end in any more bloodshed _Naruto thought, as he tried to fight back the rage and hate that had been let loose. Eventually he managed to get himself back under control and composed himself, as Haku lay broken on the ground.

"Zabuza, Kakashi-sensei, STOP FIGHTING! THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO END IN ANY MORE DEATHS! HAKU WAS WILLING TO DIE FOR YOU ZABUZA JUST TO PROTECT YOUR WISHES, IS THAT WHAT YOU REALLY WANTED?"

_The way he said that makes it sound like someone is already gone _Kakashi turned toward the sound of his student stunned and wide eyed at what he was hearing.

The two jounin separated for a moment while they turned and listened to the genin.

"I have evidence that Gato was going to betray you Zabuza, your mission was for naught, NOW STOP FIGHTING!"

"Where is this evidence kid? How do I know this isn't some trick Kakashi thought up?"

"I don't know anything about it Zabuza," Kakashi said as he turned to the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

Within seconds Naruto had disappeared and reappeared with two men and two clones; Naruto's clones still had them firmly secured on their knees, wrapped in chakra chains.

Zabuza let the mist fade to see what the kid was trying to show them.

"These are two of Gato's thugs who I caught about to try and rape Tsunami, they were also talking about Gato's brilliant plan. Now boys, how about you tell the guys over there what you told me and maybe I'll be inclined not to carry out my threat."

"G-g-gato was planning on betraying you after you completed your mission and were weakened by the enemy ninja," one of the men hurriedly blurted out, fearful of what the young genin might do to them if he refused to say. He really should have been afraid of Zabuza though.

The man lifted his huge sword and slowly walked over to the two men who were on their hands and knees on the bridge; too weak to stand. When he got next to them he raised Kubikiribōchō, ignored their pleas for mercy and decapitated both of them in one strike.

"Well well well it looks like you really were useless Zabuza," a short man said from his position at the end of the bridge, revealing that he was now there. He was surrounded by a large number of mercenaries.

"Gato, you little double crossing bastard," Zabuza spat, "I really didn't think you'd have the balls to betray me, but it's your funeral," he disappeared and with a swing of his massive blade brought an end to the twisted little man's life.

It wasn't long before the mercenaries were lying dead, scattered all about the bridge; they were no match for even an injured Zabuza.

While they were doing this Naruto quickly ran back over to Sasuke and Sakura, checking to see if they were okay. Sakura was in a stable condition but was still unconscious thankfully. Sasuke had the faintest of heartbeats but it seemed as if he'd recovered slightly from earlier.

Either Haku hadn't aimed to kill, or Sasuke, with his sharingan, had been able to move enough in time to avoid death.

Naruto was relieved beyond belief. Even with all his training his teammates still almost got killed. He removed the senbon scattered about their bodies and flashed them back to Tsunami's where he'd left a kunai; making sure she treated them and got some rest.

He then came back and checked on Haku as Zabuza and Kakashi just stood watching. She was in a bad shape, but she seemed as if she was going to make it.

"Why did you spare me? Why didn't you take my life after what you saw me do to your friends," she whispered from her position on the ground. The two jounin level ninja heard her as they walked closer.

"Because violence isn't the answer," Naruto said as he handing her over to Zabuza.

At this Kakashi smiled and Zabuza turned to him, "Some genin you've got, looks like we didn't need to be enemies after all. Maybe next time we see each other we'll be allies," and with that Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, disappeared into the shroud that had once again settled over the bridge.

"Let's get back to Tazuna's Kakashi-sensei, I think we could all do with a rest."

"Tell me about it."

Over the next week they all recovered from their injuries, Tazuna completed the bridge, and they headed back to Konoha finally crossing the completed "Great Naruto Bridge".

xXx

They got back to the village and Kakashi gave the report to the Hokage.

"The mission was a close call, and easily an A-grade. I'm a little worried about what happened with Naruto. It would appear that in times of extreme emotional distress and anguish he's more inclined to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra. He seemed to get it under control before he took a life unnecessarily, even if it was the enemy, but I'll be making sure to keep a closer eye on him."

"Yes that would seem to be the wisest course of action," the Hokage said from behind his desk, a look of concern upon his face.

xXx

Over the next few weeks Sasuke seemed to lighten up a little and was more inclined to come and train with Naruto and Sakura after the events in the Land of Waves. He was finally starting to act civil with everyone, even Sakura. They still called each other dobe, and Sasuke-teme but that was more just out of habit and a running joke between the two, rather than out of malice or disdain.

They improved as a team and even helped train the other squads sometimes. It wasn't long before one training session Kakashi called them over to talk to them.

"Okay team, The Chunin Exams are coming up in a few months, and I've decided that I'm going to enter you for promotions. The only way you can do this though is if you all feel that you are ready, it has to be a team effort," the timid Sakura of old was gone, the obnoxious fool that was academy Naruto nowhere in sight, and the depressed brooding Sasuke had been left in the dust.

Kakashi knew they were ready, but more importantly, they knew they were ready.

* * *

**Don't forget to review :) and next up the setup for the chunin exams and probably the start :)**


	6. 6: The Chunin Exam Kicks Off!

**Hey guys what's happening. Felt it was a little while since I'd updated, even if it's only been a few days so I thought I'd sit down and write this out. I've got a pretty fleshed out plan written down now of what major things I want to happen between now and the time-skip, and I even have a pairing for Naruto HUZZAH which may be subject to change, but at least I have one now! But that's neither here nor there in this chapter.**

**There isn't much action in this one, just a bit of a set up chapter. Also if I can't get a direct romanji translation for something I'm not going to bother and will simply write the name of the jutsu in english rather than the "Romanji **(English)**" format i've been running with. Anyway hope you enjoy and if you like this story please review :) it means a lot to me to hear that people like my writing :) Also seriously the more people I hear that like it the more pressure I will feel to continue to write, rather than play borderlands 2 or league of legends with my brother. By no means does this mean I won't write if I don't get reviews, I'll still write so don't feel the compulsion to, it's just nice is all :P. Feel free to message me if you want to ask a question about pretty much anything, I'll try to answer it as best I can without spoiling the story.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 6: The Chunin Exam Kicks Off!**

* * *

It was a week before the start of the chunin exam and Team 7 were coming along great with their preparations. Any mission they went on they completed with ease after the Land of Waves fiasco and whenever they weren't working they were training.

Now that Sasuke was coming around a little the team was making great progress both as a whole and individually. Kakashi was surprised that he really didn't have to teach them much. Most of what they were learning was knowledge that Naruto had picked up from what Kakashi now knew to be his rather extensive library.

Kakashi only ever really had to give some pointers on teamwork and a few strategies here and there. What he didn't enjoy was having them fight him as a team.

Man he really needed to get in shape or these kids would be kicking his ass in no time. They had just finished a group session where again the object of the mission was to obtain two bells attached to his waist, only this time Naruto was restricted from using the **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique).

Much to Kakashi's dismay the team had improved so vastly and their teamwork was so coordinated that he couldn't use any of the time to read his precious Icha Icha. The thing that amazed Kakashi was how well the three could swap up their roles in a battle.

In general Naruto was the close ranged specialist, but with the Hiraishin he could change that in an instance, allowing Sasuke, the mid to close ranged member of the squad, to swap in or out for him.

Sakura generally played a supporting role, but was also a part of their trap strategies where Naruto and Sasuke would corral the opponent towards the unintimidating girl and she would proceed to destroy them in a few short attacks.

With Sakura now starting to learn a few genjutsu, something Naruto had decided was a good idea since that was his weakness and if she started learning genjustsu he could practice breaking out of them, the three of them all had a long range ability to complement their rather short range strengths.

Naruto had his wind ninjutsu if you weren't counting his hiraishin, Sasuke had his fire jutsu, and Sakura now had genjutsu.

They'd recognised their own strengths and weaknesses and were working through them to improve themselves as a squad. He had no doubt that they'd perform fantastically in the exams.

It wasn't long into the session before Naruto had a hold of the two bells, grinning like the idiot he used to be. It was still early in the morning when they finished as the training session was only supposed to be the bell test.

"Alright team, that was great. Keep up the good work and I'll see you tomorrow for another session." He disappeared in a Shun-Shin.

"Soooo, back to mine for a free-for-all?" Naruto was excited; he wanted to test his strength against his teammates again.

"Heh, I guess dobe, not much else we have to do now that the exams are nearly here. I won't be going easy on you though."

"Yeah okay Naruto-kun, you're on, but no using Hiraishin. We're good, but we can't keep up when you're moving that fast. Well maybe Sasuke-kun can, but I can't," Sakura and Sasuke both walked over to Naruto and with a flash they were gone.

xXx

"Okay, well call out mercy if you are in a bind and can't get away, I don't want either of you getting in trouble if this gets out of hand alright," Now that Sasuke had a Hiraishin seal, they could go a little more all out during trainings, if someone was in trouble Naruto would simply flash to them and away in an instant, protecting them from whatever nasty move they had coming their way.

"Got it," Sakura said while Sasuke just nodded.

"Well let's go," And with that Naruto disappeared.

Sasuke had his kekkai genkai active and so could see all of Naruto's movements as he blurred towards the black haired genin. They engaged in a quick spar before being broken apart by Sakura, who rushed in to focus Naruto. _Looks like it's two against one._ Either it was Sakura's favouritism for Sasuke or she recognised that Naruto was most likely still the bigger threat.

Probably a bit of both.

Naruto blocked a bone rattling punch to the side with his left arm while blocking a kunai from Sasuke with the tanto in his right before springing backwards to get some distance. Just as Sakura took a step to chase him Sasuke made to attack her.

Hey in his defence this was a free-for-all and eliminating any threat when he had the chance would serve him well. Besides he thought he could take the dobe in a one on one fight, especially if he wasn't using the Hiraishin.

She saw it at the last second and though she was annoyed they'd sparred enough for her to not be surprised. Turning, she blocked the few taijutsu strikes he threw at her before she created space.

This worked out for the both of them. For where they'd just been standing together had been assaulted by a massive torrent of wind that would have easily knocked both of them off their feet.

In the confusion Naruto had managed a few hand seals and performed the **Fūton: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). Due to having broken apart at the last second the two genin hadn't been blown away, but it had given them a sore reminder that they weren't alone in their fight.

Sasuke quickly turned to the retreating Naruto, going through a series of hand seals before holding out his left hand and bracing it with the right "**Raiton: Raikyū** (Lightning Ball)". In the centre of his palm he condensed lightning based chakra into an orb. This occurred in the span of a second and he launched a number of the spheres at Naruto in succession.

Naruto knew that he had the advantage, quickly preparing his own attack, but Sakura attempted to rush him and keep him off guard. He'd prepared the attack before she managed to reach him "Wind Release: Air Bullet" and turned, spitting a low powered ball of air at Sakura in order to deter her from attacking momentarily and turning back to match each of Sasuke's lightning balls with an air bullet of equal strength.

Being the counter to lightning chakra the air bullets ripped through Sasuke's offense, forcing the Sharingan user to dodge them.

Sakura was back on the offensive after having avoided Naruto's attack and was frantically trying to keep pace with his taijutsu. When he started getting aggressive and pushing her back she blocked one of his punches with a chakra infused fist almost breaking his hand and once again creating a break in the fight.

She had hoped that Sasuke would capitalise on her offensive but to her dismay he'd just stood and watched.

As she jumped back from Naruto a number of shuriken appeared flying through the air from Sasuke's direction before they turned into many hundred through the use of the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, clouding the air with metal objects.

Naruto responded with another Great Breakthrough forcing many of the shuriken to stop dead in their tracks or even start flying back toward the Uchiha.

The attack also backfired with regards to Sakura, who simply put up a wall of earth, defending her from any Shuriken that weren't in the path of the wind attack. As soon as the shuriken had stopped impacting against her wall she followed through with a series of enhanced chakra infused attacks that while breaking apart her defence allowed her to launch the rocks at the Uchiha.

Rocks that were now covered in shuriken.

This offensive distracted her long enough to give Naruto the chance to use a series of shadow clones to restrain her. She tried to sink into the ground through the use of the hiding like a mole technique but they were on her too quickly and she never made it fully into the ground before she was restrained.

Naruto rushed Sasuke now that Sakura had been dealt with and attacked him with the help of two clones. With the genin's improved speed even the sharingan wielder was having trouble blocking all the strikes.

He quickly stepped back and threw a number of shuriken at and past the Narutos before using the ninja wire attached to them to swing them back around tangling the three Narutos together.

Naruto's eyes went wide at what Sasuke was attempting as he started going through hand seals. Quickly dispelling the other clones gave Naruto enough slack to get his tanto into his hand where he channelled wind chakra into it in order to effectively cut himself out of the wire before fire spread down the metal strands and engulfed him.

Naruto shun-shinned away from the danger zone a short distance and created eight shadow clones that converged on Sasuke, surrounding the genin. The black haired prodigy tried to respond with a phoenix fire jutsu and started going through hand seals, but in the time it took for him to complete the necessary sequence the clones had already attacked, pinning him to the ground and wrapping him up in chakra chains.

"Good fight teme," Naruto said from his position standing over Sasuke.

"Tch, whatever dobe," Sasuke tried to say with indifference but not being able to keep the grin off his face. He really was starting to enjoy training with the two genin whose strength he'd grown accustomed to.

"Hurry up guys, we need to clean up before we head out, remember we were supposed to be meeting Team 8 for lunch," Sakura chastised from her position over to the side.

They quickly hurried inside and cleaned themselves up a little. Naruto had told his team that if they ever wanted to they could stay at his place. They had taken up the offer a few times, Sasuke hanging around more often than Sakura because he didn't really have anywhere else to be.

Because of that they all had fresh clothes to change into as they headed out to have lunch with their friends.

xXx

They were sitting down inside at a barbecue place with Hinata, Kiba, and Shino chatting about recent missions they'd been on and discussing what they thought the chunin exam might entail. Most of team 8's talking was done by Kiba, Shino mostly sat in silence eating, or nodding in agreement with his two teammates.

Hinata spoke often enough but was still nervous around Naruto, even after the months of on-off training with him. She wasn't nearly as bad as she used to be, but she was still constantly casting glances at him and blushing whenever he looked at her.

Naruto for the life of him couldn't work out why she acted the way she did around him, being completely oblivious to her affection.

He was looking out the door when he noticed a square rock with two small eye holes sitting in the middle of the street pointed directly at him.

He elbowed Sakura to get her attention and she giggled, having had much experience with the miniature trio that was always trying to tag along with Naruto.

"Okay guys, it was great catching up, if I don't see you before the exams start good luck. I'd love to stay a little longer but I had made plans to play ninja with some of Konoha's academy students. So unless any of you want to get chased around by three midgets then I'll see you later," Naruto turned toward the exit with a smile on his face.

"A-actually Naruto-kun, I don't have anywhere I need to be, if you wouldn't mind me tagging along?" Naruto was actually surprised by this, turning around to find Hinata standing. The rest of her team seemed pretty surprised that she'd managed the courage to even ask being as timid as she was.

"Of course, I'm sure they'll enjoy meeting someone new," Naruto beckoned for her to follow as he left the restaurant.

"Oh Hinata-chan, I wonder what this rock is doing in this street, maybe I should break it into little pieces so that it doesn't get in someone's way," He cracked his knuckles as he walked closer to rock only to have it skitter further away; Hinata just giggled at the scene.

The fake rock façade was quickly thrown away as Naruto approached, "Okay okay boss, it's us, how did you know we were here?"

Naruto sweat-dropped, "You don't think it was a little obvious? Man I've got a lot to teach you three. Anyway Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, this is Hinata; she's going to be playing ninja with us today after I teach you a thing or two."

"Oh is this your girlfriend Naruto?" Konohamaru blurted, thinking that as awesome as his boss was he'd have to have a lady friend. Hinata almost fainted at the prospect.

"Hahahaha no, I've already told you guys I don't have a girlfriend, Hinata is just my friend."

The last statement took some of the blood away from her face, and she didn't end up passing out.

With the introductions done they walked down the street and back to Naruto's with Naruto explaining to Hinata how he'd me Konohamaru and his resolve to train the boy after he realised that Ebisu, Konohamaru's sensei, was such a failure at educating the boy.

After Naruto had gone through a few training exercises with the academy students, teaching them some basics to practice that he wish he'd been taught, he began the game of ninja.

It basically involved them chasing Naruto through the village in an attempt to catch him. He of course wasn't going too hard on them, but he was never going easy. They weren't going to improve if he was letting them win. They never won, but occasionally he made it seem close so as to not crush their spirit.

They were rushing over buildings and dashing through streets, the three students trying to coordinate themselves to catch the two genin as they led them across the village, when Konohamaru cried out.

Naruto quickly turned around with Hinata to find out what the disturbance was.

Konohamaru was being held off the ground by a ninja that looked to be slightly older than Naruto by a couple of years. Strangely enough he was wearing facepaint or make-up, if there was a difference Naruto couldn't tell. Naruto noticed the village symbol sitting on the cloth cowl on the boy's head. _Sand Ninja_.

"You little rat, I'll teach you for running into me," The ninja had his fist cocked back, ready to inflict some pain on the small academy student.

"So do you like beating on little kids to make yourself feel more manly? I figure it's to make-up for the make-up Hinata-chan, what do you think?" Naruto said never taking his eyes of the sand nin or letting the cold threatening look drop from his visage.

Hinata couldn't stop herself from snickering at the jab that Naruto had taken at the bully despite the situation, even another sand shinobi Naruto saw standing over under a tree couldn't help but find herself slightly amused.

"Oh, you're in trouble, boss here will floor you, you big bully." Konohamaru had gained some confidence now that Naruto had arrived.

"What's a little kid like him going to do against me?"

"Oh I'd be betting on that little kid to kick your ass," Sasuke said cooly, rounding the corner at the other end of the street after hearing the commotion, "Then I'd take a turn. Who do you think you are bullying a little kid like that?" Sasuke was actually a little pissed now. As much as the kid was obnoxious, he was eager to learn and Sasuke had come to like him during the times he'd come to hang out with Naruto.

"I assume you're here for the chunin exam, so put the kid down and don't do anything stupid or you'll find yourself in more than just a spot of trouble. The people who find you might have trouble scraping you off the pavement, because nobody hurts anyone I care about and gets away with it," Naruto wasn't putting up with anything from a foreign ninja, especially one that was threatening his own student.

At this Hinata started to fantasize about Naruto being so brave and protecting her in a situation like this before being snapped back to reality by someone speaking.

The ninja had looked like he was ready to start something before the blonde kunoichi spoke up, "Come on Kankuro, don't do anything stupid, we need to be going now anyway."

"Hmph, whatever," and with that the two sand ninja disappeared, leaving one remaining ninja standing in the tree. The youth had a strange gourd strapped to his back and looked incredibly tired. After getting a good look at the three genin standing in the street he shun-shinned after what appeared to be his team.

"There was something weird about that last one," Naruto commented aloud with Sasuke nodding in agreement.

"WOW boss, that was so cool saving me like that! I think you would have been able to take that big bully easy," the other two students were also impressed at the way Naruto had come to Konohamaru's defence, showing that he really did care about them.

"Yeah that was really brave," Hinata said still blushing from her fantasy.

"Thanks," Naruto smiled as if it was nothing and rubbed the back of his head, "But I think after that we should head home, and no more playing ninja for a while, at least not until after the exams, got it?" They looked disappointed, even chorusing 'awwww', but they listened to Naruto and decided to head home. Naruto and Hinata parted ways there as well before Naruto turned to Sasuke, "Well let's get out of here teme, and thanks for having our backs."

"Anytime, dobe, anytime."

xXx

Later that night Naruto and Sasuke had done a little one on one training and were relaxing in his living room eating some dinner that a Naruto clone had cooked up for them.

"Hey dobe, I noticed something today during our bell test. Kakashi hadn't even bothered trying to read one of those books we always see him with. Guess he thought we were going to give him trouble. I mean he has to be right sometimes, but what are those books anyway?"

"Oh, well Kakashi is a pervert. He gets enjoyment from reading it, and from the reactions he gets from people from reading it in public. That's what I've gathered anyway. It's like, well read it yourself, my dad had a collection, and my god-father writes the stuff so he keeps it updated. So go ahead and give it a read if you want. I haven't gotten into it that much at the moment but apparently it's a love story and some of the scenes are pretty steamy. I guess that's to be expected as Jiraiya does 'research' for them by perving on naked women among other things."

After the training incident in the Land of Waves Naruto had a feeling Sasuke would take to them like their Sharingan wielding sensei. He wasn't disappointed when Sasuke continued to sit on the couch all night reading the novels. When they arrived at the training ground the next day Sasuke could be found leaning against a tree with his nose in the book and needless to say his sensei was proud of the boy's taste in literature. Sakura not so much.

xXx

It was the final day before the start of the exams and everyone was psyched. Considering how hard they'd been working themselves most of the teams had decided to take this final day as a rest day before the unknown rigours of the test took place.

Naruto was strolling through town with Team 7 casually looking at some shops because naturally Sakura had wanted to go shopping on her day off. Sasuke wanted to look into getting a weapon somewhat similar to Naruto's and Naruto had just decided to tag along.

When they got to Mikoto's Supplies however they were greeted with a rather strange sight. Tenten was standing outside with a boy clad in a green jumpsuit, and a Hyuga that Team 7 had yet to meet.

Naruto waved at Tenten but before they could say anything the boy in green cut them off.

"YOSHH! You must be Naruto-san and Team 7, Tenten has told us much about you and how you have trained with her on occasion. My name is Rock Lee and it is nice to meet you!" Rock Lee looked thoroughly excited to finally meet them, bursting with energy. Naruto noticed Neji roll his eyes at the enthusiasm shown by the green clad ninja.

"Hahaha, Yes my name is Naruto, and this is Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, my teammates. It's nice to meet you too Lee."

"Yeah so what I was about to say was that this is Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga, before I was cut off and the introduction was handled without me," Tenten said rather exasperatedly.

"Sasuke-san, I would like to challenge you to a friendly test of strength to see if I can really compare to the genius of Uchiha," Lee looked expectantly at Sasuke hoping for the answer he did not receive.

Before Sasuke could reply Neji piped up, "How does a failure like you expect to win a fight against an Uchiha Lee?" everyone was rather off put by the harsh comment that was made by Neji, everyone except Lee.

"Oh only my eternal rival would say something like that to inspire me to push my limits and improve! I shall defeat you one day Neji!" Lee shouted with a smile on his face and fire in his eyes; literally fire in his eyes.

Naruto quickly saved Sasuke, who he saw really wasn't up to the challenge now that he was thoroughly enjoying reading the Icha Icha series on his day off, from the ordeal by turning to the other team, "Hey sorry Lee but we are kind of busy for our last day off and we don't really have the time right now, maybe you'll be able to test your strength against us during the exam?"

"I would be honoured to test my strength against your team Naruto-san," Rock Lee said as they turned and the teams parted ways.

"Geeze that Neji guy was a bit of a buzzkill don't you think? Had the same attitude you did a while back Sasuke, until we kicked your ass," Sakura was amused at the slight reddening she'd been able to cause creep up Sasuke's neck. He was reading Icha Icha though, so it could've been that too.

"Not wrong about that Sakura, maybe we'll have to teach him a lesson," Even Sasuke couldn't help but nod slightly in agreement at Naruto's declaration.

They spent the rest of the day shopping before the big day. Sasuke even picked up a weapon almost identical to Naruto's, but decided not to use it in the exams because he didn't yet feel comfortable with it.

xXx

Kakashi met his team at the entrance to the first stage, "Guys, good luck, I'm proud of how much you've improved since you all became a team, I'm even more proud of how fast Sasuke is getting through Icha Icha," Sakura glared at their sensei for the comment, "Ahem, well I mean, go in there and do your best! I'm sure there isn't anyone who can stand up to you now."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said while the others nodded in assent, "We'll be okay, what can they throw at us that was worse than the Land of Waves?"

xXx Flashback xXx

"But Kakashi, they are rookies! They have only just come out of the academy; surely Naruto isn't ready even if he is in the same team as Sasuke. He only just graduated from the academy!" Iruka was furious that Kakashi had put his team forward to participate in the chunin exam.

"They will do fine Iruka, you haven't seen the progress that they've made, I can assure you that they are ready," Kakashi was trying to hide the small grin on his face when he spoke; luckily he always wore his mask.

The only other people to know of the true progress of the rookie squads, Team 7 in particular, were the other rookie jounin sensei and the Hokage.

"Maybe he's right Kakashi, I held my team back for a year so that they could hone their skills," Gai was unsure as to why Kakashi would put his team at risk when they couldn't be as strong as his. Ten ten said that she occasionally trained with Naruto, but he was sure she was the one training the academy failure.

"Gai, I understand your concern, but I can guarantee that even your team might have trouble if they run into mine during the exams."

Before the situation could be drawn out Hiruzen spoke up, "That is enough, I have decided to allow it due to the strength of this year's rookies, now are there any other genin squads to be nominated?"

Iruka stood looking appalled at what his former students were about to be put through, not knowing how much they'd all changed.

xXx End Flashback xXx

They walked into the milling area for the start of the chunin exam and Team 7 couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer number of genin that would be taking part.

It wasn't long before they noticed six other genin standing over by a wall, not looking nearly as confident as they had in the days leading up to the exams.

"Hey guys, don't worry about how many there are, I'm sure we'll all do fine," Naruto said as he walked over to the six, his voice carried for every other genin in the room to hear. A number of the genin in the room smirked at hearing a rookie with such confidence, some of them even resolving to destroy the kid for what they believe to be unfounded arrogance.

When Ino saw them appear she went to hug Sasuke before she noticed both the look Sakura gave her and the fact that Sasuke was still reading Icha Icha. She'd never expected Sasuke to be reading a book in public, what had happened to him? I mean yeah he had been changing a little over these few months but really, reading in public? She would have been even more confused if she knew what Icha Icha was actually about.

"Oh hey Naruto, we'll be okay, but getting through this many ninja is going to be troublesome. If I had it my way I'd just quit now," Shikamaru got a punch over the top of the head from Ino at that statement.

"Hahaha trust you to have that attitude Shikamaru, guess I shouldn't be surprised though. Hey Kiba, Hinata, Shino, how are you guys feeling?"

"Hah, like we'd be scared Naruto," Akamaru barked in agreement from his master's shoulder.

"Okay guys well whatever happens, good luck out there. Good luck to you three as well," Naruto said noticing Tenten's team standing just off to the side.

"Whatever, it's not like we need your petty wishes of goodluck," Man that Neji guy was such a buzz-kill.

"Don't mind Neji, and thanks Naruto," She said, glaring solidly at the Hyuga with the superiority complex.

"Well look what we have here, the rookies have all finally arrived," an older Konoha ninja said as he approached them, "you might want to keep your voices down, wouldn't want to attract too much attention to yourselves."

"Who are you and why is that?" Sasuke said from the position he'd taken up leaning against the wall reading Icha Icha. He was rather annoyed that someone had said something that had managed to take his attention away from the novel.

"My name is Kabuto, and in all my attempts to take the chunin exam I've never seen a crop of genin this strong before. It should be an interesting competition this year," he had a strange look in his eyes, putting Naruto on guard. _There's something weird about this guy, I can just feel it in my gut._

"And how many times would that be?" Sasuke asked, mildly interested in what the old genin had to say.

"This is my seventh attempt. Even though I've failed, my attempts have at least garnered me something of use, and that would be information on other candidates," as he explained he pulled out a stack of info cards.

"Okay and what sort of information do you have?" Sakura was curious as to what knowledge they could get beforehand that would improve their chances.

"I have a lot of knowledge on a large number of genin, I don't claim it to be perfect or complete but who would you like to hear about?"

Naruto was curious about one of the sand ninja they had encountered a few days previously and so it seemed was Sasuke as the Uchiha spoke up, "Yeah, what can you tell me about a sand ninja. I don't know his name but he's about average height, has short red hair, green eyes and has a gourd on his back carrying who knows what."

Kabuto thought for a second before removing a card from the pile and manipulating it so that the blank face showed information, "I believe you mean Gaara of the Sand. He is a powerful genin from everything I know. It is his first attempt at the genin exams and he has completed a variety of missions. An unknown number of D ranks, 8 C ranks and 1 B rank and never suffered a scratch in any of them. That is all I know unfortunately."

"Okay," Kiba said, "Well that guy sounds like he'll be tough, this should be fun! But what have you got on us? What could you tell us about Naruto here?"

Some of the nearby genin from other villages had started to listen in too.

"Well let's see, Naruto Uzumaki, rookie genin so this is your first attempt. Was a failure during the academy but has somehow completed 1 A rank mission and a number of D and C rank missions. It says here that you were able to stop a conflict from escalating with Zabuza the Demon of the Hidden Mist. Quite impressive Naruto."

Naruto was curious about just what information this guy had, because while he had told his friends about the mission they'd been on that only counted for around 10 people. How much information did this guy actually have and how did he get it? "So what information do you have on my jutsu, anything notable?"

"Only that you have been able to master a jounin level technique called the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I don't have any more information with regards to that. Anyway I just wanted to let you know that you should be careful out there, the other genin might single you out because you are rookies."

"Well I'd like to see them try," Naruto walked over to stand next to Sasuke as Kabuto got up and disappeared into the crowd.

"Hey teme," he said as he leaned in and lowered his voice, "there's something weird about that Kabuto guy. He has too much information to still be a genin, and he has information on a sand ninja who hasn't even been to a chunin exam, that doesn't even make sense. We should keep an eye on him."

Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life, "I was just thinking the same thing dobe."

Before any of the other genin could ask what they were talking about a smoke bomb exploded and when it cleared a number of jounin and chunin were standing at the front of the room.

"Alright, shut up you degenerates. I'm Ibiki Morino and I'll be your proctor for the first test, and that means I'm your worst enemy from this moment forward. Welcome to the chunin exam," the man standing at the head of the group with scars on his face said, smirking at the young genin he was about to delight in breaking.

xXx

The first test wasn't anything like what Team 7 had been expecting and frankly they found it easy.

It wasn't too long into the exam that both Naruto and Sasuke had worked out the point of the exam was to gather information and Sasuke resorted to his sharingan to get the answers that he needed.

Naruto was unfortunately out of luck in that regard but with the amount of reading he'd had his clones do over the last 3 months on a seriously wide range of topics he was able to answer most of the questions.

Sakura hadn't even bothered trying to cheat; she simply ploughed through the test and finished with plenty of time to spare.

When the end of the test came Ibiki spoke up, "The final question of the exam is a do or die question. If you do not choose to answer the question you and your entire team automatically fail. If you do choose to answer the question but are incorrect then you will fail and you will not be able to ever take a chunin exam again," many of the genin were shocked at that last revelation, and it wasn't long before unconfident ninja were getting up and leaving, forcing their partners out of the exam as well.

Naruto and Sasuke had both figured that it was another trick question, much like how the test was designed to encourage cheating, and so had no problems with staying. Sakura was simply confident that she'd be able to answer the question anyway.

But as the test began to drag out and students began to leave Naruto became fed up with the number of genin that were throwing away their chance for a promotion.

"Okay this is ridiculous," Naruto said standing up in the middle of the room. _What are you doing dobe? _Sasuke face palmed at what how much attention his teammate was drawing to himself.

"Are you seriously going to think about this? How are you ever going to be a real ninja when you can't commit to answer a simple question? Are you just going to run from an opponent in the real world even if it means you hurt your friends and teammates? Because a true shinobi would do anything it took to accomplish his dreams and goals, Dattebayo!"

At that the remaining genin steeled their resolve and Ibiki was deflated, _thanks for ruining my test kid_.

It wasn't long after people had stopped leaving that the window exploded inwards and a sexy Konoha kunoichi named Anko flew in landing before them while pinning a self-promoting banner up behind her with the use of two kunai that she'd thrown during her mid-air tumble.

"Hey Ibiki," she said to the first proctor before turning to the genin, "Hey what the hell? There should be way less genin than this. You're losing your touch man."

"You're early, and we had a spirited speech from one of the genin that put a dampener on the intimidation factor unfortunately," he grumbled.

"Well it doesn't matter. Okay you little shits, I'm Anko Mitarashi and I'm your proctor for the second test, I'll explain more when we get there but for now let's get going."

Naruto noticed Sasuke eyeing the tight mesh body suit Anko had on that left little to the imagination and worried if he'd somehow managed to corrupt his friend by giving him those novels.

When they arrived at training ground 44, aka the forest of death, Anko turned, explaining the objective of the second test.

"Each team will be given an earth scroll or a heaven scroll. Over the next five days it will be up to you to procure whichever scroll you do not have from another team and make it to the tower at the centre of the training ground. If you cannot make it there with an earth scroll and a heaven scroll within five days you will fail. Every member of the team must also be present for any of the members to proceed to the next stage, meaning you can't leave anyone behind. Finally before we begin I need each member of each team to come here and sign a death waiver, so that should you die, we are not held responsible."

A few of the genin balked at this, Naruto and Sasuke smiled.

As they walked over to the table to sign the waivers and get their scroll Naruto felt a kunai brush past his face, just slightly cutting his cheek. Before he could react Anko had draped herself over his shoulder and was licking his fresh wound free of blood. Naruto guessed she had to have some weird trait, and now he knew what it was, but that knowledge didn't stop him from being a little disturbed at what the older woman was now doing to him. He'd worked out that any ninja worth their salt had some sort of strange aspect of their personality that he figured helped them cope with being a ninja, he wondered what his would be.

For Jiraiya, it was his super-perversion, Kakashi was always late and making random excuses, that and reading Icha Icha in public, and now he knew Anko was a sadist. What worried him though was the look in Sasuke's eyes at what she'd just done. _I really shouldn't have given him those books_. He didn't look disturbed in the slightest. _Yep I've definitely corrupted him._ Naruto didn't know whether to laugh or face palm.

It wasn't long before both Naruto and Anko were put on guard when a grass ninja appeared holding a kunai in his tongue. The guy was a serious creep.

"I apologise for startling you," he said when he saw that Anko had drawn a kunai ready for whatever he was trying, "I was just wishing to return your kunai," and after doing so he disappeared back into the crowd.

It wasn't long before everything was sorted and Team 7 had their earth scroll. After wishing good luck to the other rookies they left to stand in front of the gate they had been designated.

"Looks like this is it guys, you ready?" Sakura said with a small grin on her face at the prospect of what might possibly be a challenge. Something about the training sessions with the two young males had taken the fear right out of her, and now she felt she was ready for almost anything. She didn't look nearly as excited as the other members of her team though.

"You bet. This is what I'm talking about dattebayo! Reckon we can beat whatever record they set on this stupid test teme?"

"I don't doubt we will dobe, let's do this," Sasuke said as the gates swung inward and the second stage of the chunin exam began.

* * *

**So the second stage of the exam begins, what will happen now that they are stronger and faster, what will happen as they progress?  
****I already know but you don't, mwahahahahaha!** **Cya next time :) Also some of my chapters might not be beta'd this one wasn't before i put it up because my beta reader was busy doing something at the time i sent it to her, and well I'm impatient, I've re-read it a few times, hopefully there wasn't anything major i missed. Ciao!**


	7. 7: The Forest of Death

**Hey guys, Orzza here once again because I got bored and decided to write the next chapter! Enjoy :)**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 7: The Forest of Death**

* * *

"So guys," Naruto said as they walked through the now open gate into the forest of death, "What's the plan? You figure after that speech I gave and the scene we made in the milling area people are going to be coming after us?"

"If they don't I'd be surprised," Sasuke barely looked up from his book at that and tucked it away, "We should set up a little further in and wait for someone, hopefully we can pick up an easy scroll and it'll be a breeze from then on in. The sooner we finish here the sooner I can finish this chapter," the boy sounded irritated at the fact his reading time was being disturbed; Sakura just sighed at this.

_Oh god_ Naruto thought _I've turned him into Kakashi! … On second thought that's still infinitely better than old Sasuke._

Once they were inside the forest they made their way up into the massive trees and continued slowly, hoping to catch another of the teams off guard at the start of the exam.

It wasn't before long that a team of genin could be heard approaching through the forest.

"They've got to be around here somewhere. Those rookies should be an easy ticket into the final stage so keep a look out," the apparent leader of the squad was saying as they made their way along the floor of the forest.

_They're the rookies; _Sasuke thought, _almost makes me want to put them out of their misery._

When the three nin came into view Naruto turned to Sakura and nodded, giving the go ahead on taking them out.

Sakura began going through a handful of seals before holding the last. Sasuke threw a handful of smoke bombs and Sakura released the last seal; in seconds the surrounding area was obscured in a haze of white.

xXx

"Oboro, what was that?" the rain ninja called out to his leader, only to find that he couldn't even hear himself.

When the smoke cleared he was standing next to two of the rookie genin that they had been hunting; the black haired Uchiha and the blonde. His team was no where to be seen.

He immediately went on the attack, lunging at the blonde with a kunai in the hopes of taking out the weaker of the two.

The blonde responded by bringing out his own kunai but wasn't quick enough. He coughed blood and convulsed in pain as the rain nin drove his kunai deep into his torso, _serves him right for attacking us like that, bah such a rookie!_

xXx

Oboro, rather than attack, merely placed his hands in a seal, "Kai!"

What he saw unnerved him, but at least he could hear now. He didn't have much time before his teammate attacked, as he no doubt hadn't recognized the genjutsu.

His fellow rain nin rushed him but before he could make a killing blow on his leader, Oboro stepped through his guard and tapped him on the head, channeling enough chakra through his fingers to break the genjutsu.

The nin was disoriented for second before he looked around and saw his teammate bleeding out on the ground, the life fading from his eyes.

He dropped the kunai as his hands started shaking. What had he done! He'd killed one of his teammates. Before he could think about it any longer though three ninja appeared standing in front of Oboro.

The two remaining rain nin wore yellow jumpsuits stitched up at the middle and face masks. Oboro had spiky black hair and was wearing a forehead protector with the rain emblem on it.

The blonde ninja at the front of the new arrivals spoke up, "I'm sorry about your teammate, it is good to know that you were set on killing us though. How about you hand us your scroll and leave the training ground."

Oboro looked at them seriously before the other nin spoke up, "You really think we'd let you have our scroll after what you just did?"

"You can't progress to the next stage. You just killed your teammate, and the rules state that you have to have a full team to pass. Also if we managed to catch you off guard with one genjutsu what do you think we are capable of."

Oboro nodded, realizing that as angry as he was there was no point fighting them now that they had no chance of passing, "He's right, give them the scroll, we don't need it anymore, let's get out of this forest."

They chucked the three Konoha genin a scroll before picking up their fallen comrade and retreating from the forest.

Sakura was almost on the verge of tears. Because of what she'd done a genin was dead. Naruto noticed her expression and turned to her, "Sakura what happened was not your fault. That genjutsu was a great idea. That genin attacked with lethal force. Don't worry about it, you did great, and look, we even got a heaven scroll."

Sakura smiled weakly and it wasn't long until they were moving through the forest at a rapid pace again, heading toward the center of the training ground.

Sasuke had his sharingan active during the genjutsu and had worked out mostly how the technique worked. He was grateful that Sakura was on their team, that girl had some creative genius.

The genjutsu could be cast on an area or group of people, but took a decent amount of preparation, hence the long series of hand seals.

It removed the subject's ability to hear, removing communication between allies, and then made the subject perceive any nearby person as the current threat or enemy; as the squad had been searching for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, he surmised that was what they saw.

It was a great technique for spreading panic for a few moments and creating an opening, or even longer if they didn't have anyone adept enough at realizing it was a genjutsu.

As they continued through the forest Naruto heard a lone scream to his right, and turning he saw a young red haired girl running through the forest being chased by a massive snake. It didn't take long before he lost sight of her in the foliage. _That's a strange colour red_ he thought as he veered closer to have a look at what was happening, _almost the exact colour of my jacket_.

"Hey dobe where are you going, I thought we were supposed to be heading to the finish?"

"Teme don't worry, the finish line isn't going anywhere, besides I think someone's in trouble."

"Well duh, Naruto-kun, of course someone is in trouble, this is the forest of death and there are a tonne of genin in here that want to kill each other."

"Yeah, yeah okay guys I just want to check this out, I'm sure you both heard the screaming."

They arrived to find a small girl cowering in a clearing before a gigantic snake that was about to consume her.

Naruto couldn't see any other ninja, although they wouldn't be very good if he could see them from where he was standing in the trees, and he couldn't see any signs of a trap. All he could see was a girl his age about to be eaten.

Just as the snake lunged and the girl flinched away from the attack Naruto made up his mind. Blurring from his spot on the tree branch he slammed a rasengan into the side of the snake's head, sending it flying across the cleaning and smashing into a tree.

xXx

"Are you okay?" an unfamiliar voice said from above her.

Karin opened her eyes to find a young boy standing over her as she sat on the ground. He had a friendly smile and messy blonde hair that was average in length but suited him. The jacket he was wearing was the same colour as her hair she noticed, and he was reaching a hand down to help her off the ground.

She took the hand gratefully and he pulled her up. Before she knew it she was hugging him, "Thankyou, I don't know what I would have done without you," and then it hit her. She felt his chakra. It was amazing. The sheer quantity and quality of the warm fuzzy life force she was feeling was enough to overwhelm her and she went weak in the knees.

"Woah, are you alright? Where is the rest of your team?" the boy said worriedly as he held her up.

"I'm sorry," Karin quickly composed herself, but was still amazed at the feeling she was getting, "My name is Karin, and well my team left me for dead. If you hadn't come then I think that might have been the end of me. I can't thank you enough."

"Hahaha, no sweat, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, now do you want to find your team or do you just want to get out of this forest, because I can help you with the latter," Naruto still didn't want many people knowing his true heritage, especially after a talk he'd had with Ojii-san about some people wanting revenge. He could count the number of people that he had told on one hand even if he figured that anyone who trained with him would have worked it out; it was the Namikaze clan compound after all.

Karin's eyes widened when she heard that he was an Uzumaki, and she was almost about to call him on it, but it explained the chakra levels, _maybe I'm not the only one_. She strangely felt even more comfortable around him now.

"Please, just get me out of here," She didn't want to be in here this terrible place any longer.

"Okay, well jump onto my back and I'll carry you out okay?" He couldn't feel any ill intent from the girl, so he saw no reason why he couldn't help her out. She seemed to be genuinely in trouble, and the way she was holding onto him now only really confirmed that she had looked death in the face.

When Naruto arrived back up in the trees with Sakura and Sasuke they both just looked at him as if to say 'really? What'd you go and do that for?'

"Hey," he said defensively, "she would have died otherwise, come on, I wasn't just going to let someone die for no reason. Now let's get out of this forest, I don't want to have to fight another genin team even if it wouldn't be too hard."

With that they disappeared in a blur, Karin clinging to her hero's back with her feet wrapped around his waist, her head buried into his shoulder and neck so as to not catch as much wind, and so she could enjoy the feeling of his chakra that little bit more.

xXx

They moved through the forest at a rapid pace before a blur cut them off. Standing in front of them was a ninja wearing a forehead protector with the grass emblem on in it, and a strange purple rope around their waist.

Naruto noticed that this was the same creepy guy that held the kunai in his tongue earlier.

Karin was surprised to feel exactly who was standing in front of them but knew not to say anything lest she give away the secret of the sound village.

"Give me your scroll and I'll let you live," the ninja lied in a creepy tone.

"What makes you think we would do anything of the sort," Naruto said from his position in the trees while he let Karin down off his back.

She was actually slightly worried for her Uzumaki hero. If Orochimaru-sama tried to attack them there was no way he could possibly survive.

"Because I told you to," with that the grass nin began to amp up the killing intent in an attempt to smother the genin with fear.

No strangers to killing intent after the encounter with Zabuza and with their confidence in themselves high, the three were worried but not frozen in fear. Naruto could only imagine what effect this would have on any of the other rookie genin.

"Guys, this guy isn't an ordinary genin. He might not even be a genin. Be careful, I don't want anyone getting hurt here."

"Kukukuku, you really think no one will be harmed, how naïve." The grass nin smiled before disappearing.

_The speed of this guy is INCREDIBLE!_ Naruto thought. Within moments the nin had closed the distance and was within striking range of Naruto, lashing out with an armful of snakes.

_I have to dispose of these pests before I can truly test Sasuke_ Orochimaru thought to himself, _but I can't even kill them, what a shame._

Just as the attack was about to land, Orochimaru noticed the pink haired pest of a girl approaching his right side. He'd deal with her when this blonde punk had been removed from the fight.

What happened next though would shock Karin and Orochimaru.

The snakes appeared about to make contact with Naruto as he stood facing them, and then the blonde simply disappeared. A lone Hiraishin Kunai could be seen falling to the ground in his place as the striking snakes extending from Orochimaru's sleeve continued through the air.

A fraction of a second later Naruto had reappeared crouched next to his kunai with his tanto drawn. Swinging it upwards over his head he bifurcated every one of the snakes and they fell to the ground a writhing mass. He had used Sasuke's seal as a point to jump to in order to avoid the attack from the strange ninja.

The shock that played across the face of the grass nin was all the signal Sakura needed as she rushed in during the confusion, landing a solid punch on his right shoulder and employing one of her more recently developed techniques.

Sakura had read that medic nin sometimes used concentrated chakra so thin that they created scalpels that could be used to perform surgery. With her training with Naruto and her already superb chakra control she had taken it to another level.

At the moment of impact she projected a highly concentrated blade of chakra from the end of her fist. The chakra wouldn't go very far and for now she could only project it from the end of her fist but it didn't matter; she already had her fist against her target's shoulder. The cut was so fine there wasn't even an explosion of blood as the grass nin's arm fell away from his body.

The man reeled backwards in shock and pain before opening his mouth. He began regurgitating what looked to be himself.

"Sasuke, we can't take any chances, **that** move, now!" This nin was no genin and Naruto now had no qualms about using excessive force.

Sasuke nodded before going through a series of hand seals and inhaling deeply.

Naruto threw a Hiraishin kunai at the man who had only just completed what looked to be a rebirthing, as he was now completely healed.

Just before the kunai reached the man Naruto disappeared, reappearing next to Sasuke and flashing both of them to stand within feet of the nin that was only just now moving to block the kunai.

Sasuke released his jutsu "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"; a gigantic fireball emerged from his mouth.

In the mere moments after flashing Naruto had already gone through the seals required and had performed a jutsu of his own "**Fūton: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough).

The resulting fireball was a blue gargantuan mass of flame and it was at such a close range that Orochimaru had no hope of getting out of its way.

"NO! OROCHIMARU-SAMA!" Karin involuntarily called out in concern for the master she thought she might possibly lose.

The fireball completely enveloped the grass nin and destroyed a good portion of the surrounding forest. The heat coming off of it was enough to cause everyone to break out in a sweat.

Anyone that was nearby was sure to come and investigate.

_It would seem that young blonde is just as interesting as Sasuke-kun, but I must give Sasuke the gift of my power, the Sharingan must be mine! But now they know that the stupid little wench is one of mine. I can't let her escape this alive._

When the dust and smoke from the attack cleared a different man was standing before them. One that Naruto knew to be Orochimaru, a village defector and one of the three Sannin.

Jiraiya had shown him a picture of his teammates once. This man looked almost identical to the man in the photo. Not only that but Karin had confirmed his suspicions with what she had just shouted.

Within seconds of the debris dissipating however another team arrived in what was now a clearing after the destruction the jutsu had caused. It was Tenten, Lee, and Neji. They didn't know what they had gotten themselves involved in.

Orochimaru blurred away.

"Guys we need to get out of here, this guy is too much for us. He's one of the Sannin!" Naruto was actually concerned for the safety of his team now as he and Sasuke flashed over to Sakura and he was about to grab Karin and leave in an attempt to save his team from what he thought was another attack.

"Kukukuku, what makes you think you can go anywhere?" The snake eyed man said from his position behind Tenten's team.

"You leave this forest and this team is killed. You don't seem like one that would let innocents die." Snakes were restraining Neji and Lee, and Tenten was being held from behind, a kunai being pressed against her neck, fear evident in her eyes.

Naruto was now shaking in rage at what that evil man was doing.

"You harm any of my friends Orochimaru and I will destroy you if it's the last thing I do!"

The kunai twitching was all the signal Naruto required.

Orochimaru had realized now that the technique the boy was using was the Hiraishin no Jutsu, what he didn't realize was that Tenten also had a seal on her.

The boy appeared Rasengan in hand, and before Orochimaru could so much as blink, his face had been destroyed. Much to Naruto's dismay though it was simply a mud clone. _Damn, he must have switched out after the explosion!_

While Naruto had acted to save his friend the real Orochimaru had emerged from behind Sasuke and planted his teeth deeply into his neck.

Naruto turned at Sasuke's screams of pain as Orochimaru withdrew his fangs and launched at Karin, intent to kill showing in his eyes.

Karin didn't understand why her master was moving towards her until the last second and he brought a kunai down in a killing blow. Well it would have been a killing blow had Naruto not flashed to Sakura and launched himself at the red head.

He managed to grab her a moment before the kunai would have killed her and they disappeared. Within the span of a second he was back next to Sasuke and was seriously concerned for the well being of his friend as he writhed in pain on the ground and a black seal appeared where Orochimaru had bitten him.

"Kukukuku, have fun Sasuke-kun," The creepy Sannin said as he sank into the ground and disappeared.

Tenten, Neji and Lee all ran over to see if they were okay.

"Orochimaru did something to him. We need to get Sasuke out of here."

Neji made to move in front of Naruto.

"What are you doing Neji?" Naruto was annoyed that the older boy would get in his way.

"We still need a scroll Naruto, and you are down a man."

Tenten was appalled at what Neji was saying, "Neji you fool! They are our comrades and you saw the beginning of that fight! Naruto and Sakura could probably take us right now and you know it. Sasuke is in trouble, they need to get help."

The Hyuga looked reluctant to move, but stepped out of the way all the same.

Naruto gave him a dirty look as he walked past and shun-shinned toward the location of the tower, carrying Sasuke on his back. Sakura wasn't far behind worrying over what was wrong with her crush.

They arrived at the base of the tower and entered a small area before opening both of the scrolls.

In a puff of smoke Iruka appeared before them and they were taken quickly to another area. Iruka was concerned at the condition of Sasuke.

"We need to see Kakashi-sensei! NOW!" Naruto was growing increasingly worried for his friend, who hadn't stopped his screams of pain.

Kakashi was quickly brought to meet them along with a number of medical ninja.

"What happened?" Kakashi was certain that this wasn't the result of a genin match up. As much as he didn't want to be overconfident in his team they really were a strong group.

"Orochimaru jumped us in the forest," Kakashi's eyes widened at this, "We managed to piss him off apparently or something because when he got the chance he bit Sasuke on the neck and this seal appeared. He's been screaming ever since."

Kakashi knew what that seal was. Anyone who was familiar with Anko was familiar with the seals that Orochimaru placed on his subordinates. But Sasuke wasn't his subordinate, so why had Orochimaru done this to the boy?

He quickly rushed Sasuke off to the infirmary to see if they could do anything to help him through surviving the initial stages of the cursed seal. As Kakashi did that Naruto had his own problems to go and handle.

"Sakura, go look after Sasuke, I need to go discuss a few things with my new houseguest, don't let Kakashi know about her yet, I want to talk to her first" Naruto said before disappearing.

xXx

Naruto's home also made a very great prison if he'd locked it as only he could unlock the locks. So dropping Karin there during the fight meant he could come back later and she'd still be somewhere in his house.

He appeared in his home to find Karin sitting on the floor in the middle of his living room crying.

She looked up at him when she felt his presence with puffy red eyes, "Why! Why would Orochimaru-sama try to kill me?" she couldn't stop herself from sobbing.

"Because whatever he has got planned he didn't want us knowing about it. Do you know about his plans Karin?"

At this point she was too distraught to try and lie, earlier she had watched the only person she had thought ever to care about her lash out with the intent to kill. She'd only survived thanks to this stranger, that was two times she owed her life to him, "Yes but I wouldn't have told anyone!"

"Seems like he couldn't take that chance and so he tried to kill you. I think he'd probably still try. Luckily for you he doesn't know where this place is, and he probably couldn't get in anyway." He felt no threat coming from the girl so he sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulder, she was alone now, alone and afraid, and he knew that feeling.

She buried her head into his chest and cried, using the warm feeling of his chakra to try and calm herself down.

As he was sitting there he got a good look at the colour of her hair, "Karin-san, can I ask what your family name is?"

"It is Uzumaki Naruto-kun,"

"Okay, it's just that you have the same hair as my mother did, apparently it was common among Uzumakis. I'm glad I'm not the only one left."

They sat in silence for a while as Karin continued to hug the Jinchuuriki of Konoha.

"Karin-san, you know you can't go back to Orochimaru right?"

As much as it pained her to hear this she knew he was right, and somewhere within herself she was relieved. Did she really want to go back to someone who had tried to kill her because she might have indulged his plans?

"I know Naruto-kun. But where can I go?"

Naruto thought for a while.

"You tell the Hokage and I everything you know about the plan, and I might be able to get you protection here in the village. You might even be able to live here with me."

"Why would you risk your reputation for someone you've just met, someone who worked for Orochimaru-sa- I mean Orochimaru." _It felt weird not saying Orochimaru-sama._

"Because you are an Uzumaki, and we might be the last two alive. I know what it feels like to be alone Karin-san. And I don't want that for anybody. Orochimaru manipulated you and you shouldn't be punished for that. Especially when you didn't do anything to hurt any of us."

Karin was moved at what this boy was saying, and she could tell that not a single word of it was a lie. Orochimaru had never lied to her either but she shuddered to think of the look in his eyes when he attacked her. She meant nothing to him now.

"Thank you Naruto-kun," She'd stopped crying and leant back. She could only hope she would be allowed to stay in the village.

"I'll be back, make yourself at home but be ready if I need to get you in a hurry; I need to go see the Hokage." Naruto got up and unlocked the front door before closing and relocking it. With that Karin was once again left alone in the genin's home, but this time with much more to think about.

xXx

When Naruto arrived at the Hokage's he walked straight up to the front desk, "I need to see Ojii-san," but before even waiting for an answer he stormed up the steps in the tower and burst into the room prompting a bunch of ANBU to leap from the shadows, ready to act.

"Stand down, you should know by now what Naruto looks like, even if he has eluded you many times before," the old Hokage said from his position overlooking the village, "What is so urgent Naruto? Shouldn't you be at the chunin exam?"

"It's Orochimaru Ojii-san,"

"What!" the old man turned around, eyes wide.

"He attacked us in the forest of death, and for a time we seemed to be holding up, but he used another team that arrived as a hostage. He used them to get the drop on me and managed to put some weird seal on Sasuke, then he simply disappeared."

"This is serious news Naruto," Hiruzen was about to ask how Naruto even knew what the man looked like but remembered that his godfather was one of his teammates.

"That's not all Hokage-sama," Naruto looked at the old man seriously. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, he hasn't called me Hokage in a long time, I wonder what is bothering him.

"I have in my custody one of Orochimaru's shinobi. She's a ninja of the sound, so I'd look into the rest of them too, although I doubt there's much you can tie back to Orochimaru. But that's not the point," Naruto continued before Sarutobi could cut him off, "The point is that she's a frightened girl who saw her master try and stab a kunai through the top of her head today, a girl who is now alone in this world, who as lost everything. At the moment I'm the only friend she has, because I was the one who saved her from Orochimaru after she accidentally revealed her loyalty to that sick man. What I want from you is a guarantee that if she reveals what she knows of Orochimaru's plans willingly that you will grant her protection and citizenship in this village and one day allow her to continue her life. I know what it's like to be alone and afraid, and I don't want that for her. And don't worry about what she'll do with herself. I've already decided she'll be living with me, being one of the last of the Uzumaki clan."

Hiruzen was surprised that Naruto would come into his office and make a demand like this, but was also proud in the strength the boy was showing by doing it. This was all troubling news though.

What was even more surprising to him though was that another Uzumaki was still alive. They were said to have all been killed.

"Naruto, you know something like that isn't simple, but considering the circumstances, especially with the appearance of Orochimaru, and she can reveal his plans, I'll see what I can do. For now keep her locked in your house and keep an eye on her. That place is secure I know that much."

"Thankyou Ojii-san," and with that the boy was gone.

It wasn't long after that Anko reported having her own encounter with the legendary Snake Sannin.

xXx

Naruto arrived back in his home and Karin was standing in the kitchen making something to eat.

"What? I was hungry?" He could still see the pain in her eyes at the day's events even as she tried to hide it.

"The Hokage says that he'll do what he can about getting you citizenship and stuff so you can stay in Konoha if that's what you want."

"I don't really have anywhere else to go now Naruto-kun."

"Well if all goes to plan you can stay here and live with me, that won't be too bad right? The last two Uzumaki's living together!," He said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. The Kunoichi didn't miss the effort, and she tried to smile a little, but he could see the pain in her expression when she did.

"Come here," Naruto walked into the kitchen and pulled her into a hug. She instantly warmed at the contact.

"Do you think you could tell me about why Orochimaru did what he did to Sasuke?"

She nodded and they walked over to sit on the couch, "He put one of his cursed seals on Sasuke. They give the user an incredible power if they can survive the initial process. From everything I know Orochimaru wants to use Sasuke as his next host. I'm not sure how putting the seal on Sasuke would accomplish that, but that's what I know."

"Is there any other reason why Orochimaru is here at the chunin exam?"

Karin nodded, "He wants to invade and destroy Konoha during the chunin exam finals."

"What else can you tell me?"

Karin went on to explain that the sound and the sand villages were allied and that they were told not to attack each other too much during the exam so as to preserve strength. She also told him that she had seen Kabuto a number of times at hidden bases that Orochimaru controlled.

"I knew there was something funny about that guy, guess that explains it."

xXx

Naruto was standing in the office of the Hokage once again, relaying the information he'd just obtained.

"I see Naruto, thankyou for this, it truly could not be more helpful. We will now know how to prepare. And we won't capture Kabuto until the invasion is all but set, now that we can set the trap for Orochimaru we might be able to stop any harm from befalling this village. However we must be prepared for Orochimaru changing his plans now that we have that Karin girl giving us information. There is a lot to think on, Naruto you should get back to your team. Sasuke may need your support if he is to make it through this ordeal."

"What about citizenship for Karin?"

"I'm trying Naruto, now go, your team needs you."

"Thankyou Ojii-san," and with that Naruto disappeared.

"That boy has come through for us Minato, you would be proud," Hiruzen said to himself as he sat down at his desk to think.

xXx

During the night and with the support of his team Sasuke pulled through the first stage of the seal and reached a stable level. As soon as he was ready, Kakashi took him away and sealed the power so that Sasuke could keep it under control.

Now all they had to do was wait. They had all decided that as they wait for the second stage to come to a close they would rest at Naruto's at it was secure and comfortable. There was nothing the proctors could really do to stop them from leaving so that was where they stayed.

Naruto explained the situation with Karin, and the team didn't really have many problems with it. They weren't as accepting at first, but if Naruto was okay with it then they were okay with it as well. It wasn't long before they got used to her being around and she was nice enough, if a little bossy sometimes.

The first night they slept there after they completed the second stage Naruto was lying awake looking at the ceiling of the master bedroom when there was a slight knock on the door.

He opened it up to find the short red head in the cute pajamas he'd bought for her earlier that day because she didn't have any clothes to wear now.

"I couldn't sleep," she looked like she'd been crying a little, "… nightmares, can I sleep with you tonight? I know it sounds weird, but your chakra makes me feel good,"

"It's okay," he pulled her into a hug and led her back to bed where they lay with her head against his chest.

"Thank you Naruto for what you did for me," Karin whispered as she fell asleep.

"Anytime Karin-chan," Naruto fell asleep not long after.

xXx

Over the next few days Team 7 trained and rested and Sasuke got used to having a weird seal on his body that had changed him physically. He hadn't worked out what triggered it giving him power, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to. But it might come in handy if he was ever in a bind.

He was pretty resolved though that he would only ever access the power of the hickey if he or his friends were in serious trouble. Naruto had started calling it the hickey and it sort of stuck with the group, mostly because it was a sort of mockery of Orochimaru. Sasuke was annoyed at first but even he could see the funny side of it, especially with how the bastard creep had applied it.

Kakashi had come and told them that due to the number of teams that were in the second stage to expect preliminaries. By the second last day he told them that with the number of students that had already passed, 6 teams in total, they would definitely be having a preliminaries round to cut down the numbers.

Karin had started to make a habit of sleeping in Naruto's bed, simply because his chakra helped her sleep. That and they started to enjoy each other's company the more time they spent with each other.

The night before the preliminaries as they were lying together in bed, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek, "Good luck tomorrow Naruto-kun, I know you'll do great."

"Thank you Karin-chan," At first he'd wondered what she was trying to do as she reached up, but now that she'd kissed him he realized that he had no problem with it what so ever and went to sleep with a smile on his face, ready for the challenge that awaited him in the preliminaries.

* * *

**So NEXT UP the preliminaries, and then what will happen in the invasion?! I dunno, do you? Oh and review review, seriously there's a button at the bottom of the page. do it... DO IT NOAWW... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR... Kudos if you get the reference.**


	8. 8: The Preliminaries

**Sup guys, another chapter here, I'll answer a few things about stuff that came up in reviews at the end, anyway enjoy :) Unless I smash out the 9th chapter tonight, which is highly unlikely, don't expect another one for a bit, because a tidal wave of assignments is about to hit me in the face.**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 8: The Preliminaries**

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By the time the second stage of the chunin exam was completed seven teams were standing in an arena with high balconies on opposing walls looking down on where the fights would take place.

Team 7 had been the second team to make it to their destination following Team Gaara. The other five teams were a team from the Sound Village that Naruto had seen little of, Team Gai, Team 8, Team 9, and Kabuto's Team.

Naruto was glad that all of the rookies had made it through unharmed; maybe his training tips had been of use after all.

As they all milled around waiting for the event to proceed, the Hokage stood before them and gave a speech stating that one of the main purposes of the chunin exams was as a simulation of war and that the finals were a place where a village could show its power. Finishing up he bid the competitors good luck and told them to fight their best for the sake of themselves and their village.

An average looking tokubetsu jounin with brown hair and a pronounced cough then took the place of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Okay, listen up. My name is Hayate Gekko and I'll be your proctor for the third stage of the exam. This also means that I'm going to be your proctor today for the preliminaries. There are too many competitors for the final and to thin the numbers out everyone will be fighting to move on. By beating your competitor, who will be randomly drawn, you will be securing your place in the finals where promotion to chunin will be considered from your performance. To proceed, your opponent has to either concede, or be unable to continue fighting. I reserve every right to step into a fight and make a call on the victor and when I tell you to stop there will be no questions asked; my decision will be final. Before we proceed if any of you would like to withdraw then now is the time to do so," the speech he gave was interrupted by sporadic coughing.

The only person to stand down from the upcoming challenge was Kabuto.

"Go figure," Naruto said out of the side of his mouth toward Sasuke; the Uchiha simply nodded with a sour look on his face. Now that Karin was living him and had given him information on Orochimaru, Naruto had filled his team in. Sasuke wasn't too surprised that Kabuto was the spy, it explained a lot about the 'genin'.

"Well that makes it easier, now that there are only 20 of you there will not be any byes. Please go and stand up behind the railings and wait for the rounds to be drawn," with that the genin made their way up and the three rookie teams and Team Tenten stood together waiting to see who would fight first.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura I'd like to talk to you for a bit," Kakashi called them further along the balcony to have a chat, "Now I think you guys should hold back showing your true strength if necessary, the less these foreign villages and the other competitors know about you the harder it will be to prepare for the finals."

"We were thinking the same thing sensei," Sasuke said with a dull look on his face as if that course of action wasn't obvious, "There really isn't any point wasting the effort here just to look flashy."

Naruto looked a little disappointed that his sensei was reaffirming what Sasuke had already decided for the team, but he knew it was for the best.

"Good luck out there, not that you'll really need it," Kakashi said with an eye smile, leaving them to rejoin their friends.

Most of the rookie genin were hoping against hope that they wouldn't have to fight one of Team 7. As much as they thought they might have a chance, the rookies knew the strength of that team, and it would be a downright challenge to go head to head with any of them.

But one of the genin teams was also hoping not to get paired against a particular sand genin, having seen him destroy an entire team in mere seconds.

It wasn't long before the first match up flashed onto a massive screen sitting behind Hayate.

_**SASUKE UCHIHA vs YOROI AKADO**_

"Well good luck teme, kick his ass,"

"Tch, you make it sound like it'll be hard,"

"Still as overconfident as ever Sasuke," Kiba said as the Uchiha jumped down into the arena.

"Like you can talk Kiba," it was Sakura's turn to jump to the defense of her love.

"Yeah but at least we have the power to back it up!"

Naruto just looked blankly at the boy before looking at Akamaru, "So how about you and stupid here fight me later Akamaru?" Naruto said with a broad grin as he leaned down to talk to the dog. Kiba went red in the face at Naruto's jab, but was even more embarrassed when the dog retreated behind his leg, rather than growl at the blond, "What were you saying before Kiba? Couldn't hear you over the sound of your dog whimpering," Naruto stuck his tongue out and pulled the bottom of his eyelid down as he looked straight at the Inuzuka. The other genin could only laugh at the scene.

"Hey guys," Sakura got their attention, "The fight's about to start. Pay attention."

They all turned to watch the fight as Sasuke stepped up to confront Yoroi.

Yoroi got into stance waiting for Sasuke to make a move but as he looked closer he noticed something strange. The boy wasn't even in any sort of a stance. He was just standing with a hand in his pocket reading a book.

When Yoroi growled at being underestimated the Uchiha looked up, "Oh, were we supposed to be starting now? That's a shame. Well let's get this over with."

Without actually putting the book down he simply beckoned Yoroi toward him with his free hand.

Kakashi could barely contain his glee at what his student's attitude when Rock Lee called out, "He's so hip and cool!" A number of the other genin couldn't help but laugh along with the sniggering jounin.

Yoroi was furious at how much he was being underestimated. Little did he know though that Sasuke wasn't underestimating him; he was just testing him. He had his sharingan active the whole time as he waited for Yoroi to make a move, trying to analyse exactly what made Yoroi tick, while of course finishing the chapter he was up to.

The angry nin charged at the young Uchiha and launched a furious punch at his head as the boy continued to read, until his eyes snapped up and he caught the right fist of Yoroi in his left hand. Stepping forward, pushing his shoulder into the chest of the genin, and turning, Sasuke used the momentum of Yoroi's charge to flip the genin over his shoulder and slam him into the ground on his back.

But something was wrong. Sasuke noticed that as soon as he touched the genin that was now quickly recovering and was back in a fighting stance he felt his chakra being absorbed.

_So it's going to be one of those kinds of fights then. Well he seems to require contact to do it, so I'll just have to remove that advantage. _

Sasuke quickly shun-shinned to create some space and formulate a plan. It didn't help Yoroi's chances that the boy was just as furious as ever. Sasuke watched as he charged across the arena and saw his opening. Quickly stashing his book the Uchiha flung his hands toward his approaching opponent.

A barrage of shuriken approached the genin that was moving with surprising speed toward the black haired Uchiha. After a few quick hand seals from Sasuke the shuriken multiplied, filling the air, leaving no way for Yoroi to dodge them as he advanced.

The genin stopped in his tracks and pulled out his kunai, the entirety of his attention now on deflecting the deadly flying objects.

"Hah! That the best you can do you punk? Some shuriken? You're gonna have to try harder than that to get the better of me!" Yoroi was smiling as he went to move.

"Tch, the first move is always a feint you rookie," and with that Sasuke flung two kunai down to each side pulling the wires that were attached to the shuriken he had just thrown taught.

Yoroi was now trapped, tangled in the mess of ninja wire that connect the kunai now stuck in the ground with the shuriken stuck in the walls and floor of the room.

"Now you might have a problem," Sasuke said holding a wire in each hand that was connected to each of the kunai he had just thrown.

Lightning chakra flared and arced from between his fingers and quickly travelled the length of wire, reaching the tangled mess that contained Yoroi.

All genin could do was scream as the electricity travelled through his body. It wasn't long before his eyes rolled back into his head and Hayate was forced to call the match.

Sasuke released his technique and cut the wires and the other Konoha genin fell to the ground an unconscious twitching mess. The medic-nin quickly rushed to his aid and carried him away from his position on the ground as Sasuke shun-shinned back up to his position with his team; his book out as he leant against the railing.

"Sasuke Uchiha is the victor and will be advancing to the next round," Hayate said from his position in the arena, coughing as he waited for the next two competitors to jump down from the railings.

"Sasuke-kun, that was so cool! Good work with your new jutsu," Sakura knew that he was going to be fine, but it was still awesome watching him deal with the genin so easily.

"Hmph, the guy was a fool getting so easily riled up," Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the ease with which he was moving through to the next round.

Sakura walked up beside the young Uchiha and put an arm around her teammate as he leant over the railing reading his book and they waited for the matchup to appear on the screen.

She could feel the glare she was getting from Ino when the girl realized that Sasuke wasn't going to shrug her hand from his shoulder but before anything could happen between the two hotheaded women the next two competitors flashed up onto the screen.

_**SHINO ABURAME vs ZAKU ABUMI**_

Everyone's attention was drawn to the floor as Shino and Zaku both made their way down to fight.

The fight was mostly uneventful in that Zaku couldn't make a solid hit on Shino, and it wasn't long before he resorted to a jutsu that he seemed extremely confident about.

Shino attacked him from two sides through the use of a bug clone, and as Zaku attempted to respond with a mysterious jutsu in his arms he cried out in pain.

His arms exploded from the inside out from an unseen pressure and the boy collapsed; now short the use of two limbs. The medic nin quickly rushed to his aid but it didn't look like the boy would ever get the use of his arms back.

Shino didn't seem to care either way for the fate of the sound genin as he made his way back up to the others and Hayate announced the victor.

The next matchup was just as one sided.

"Hey look, it's the make-up guy," Naruto said to his teammates, "Hey what's with the make-up? Are you trying to make your opponent mistake you for a girl and go easy on you?" Naruto called out loud enough for everyone to hear. Kankuro shook with anger when he heard laughs from a number of genin.

The Konoha genin from Kabuto's team did everything but go easy on the sand nin but to no avail. He ended up with his bones crushed by the sand ninja's puppet.

So far the results of every single match had been brutal and it was starting to wear on some of the rookie genin who hadn't really had much experience with that sort of violence on their missions. Naruto could see the slight worry on some of their faces.

"Guys," he said turning away from the railing to look at Team's 8 and 9, "It's fine, you didn't train all this time and go through all this to lose. I believe in you, don't be chickens!" he smiled his goofy smile and they seemed to cheer up a little.

"Okay Naruto, but I just hope we don't get paired against that Gaara guy, you should have seen what he did to a team of genin in the forest. Killed them all in one move; it was ruthless!" Kiba looked nervously over at the sand nin and Akamaru whimpered in agreement with his master.

"Yeah well, we can sort him out when we get around to it," none of the other genin knew of the plot that Orochimaru was planning and so had nothing to suspect of the sand genin, but Naruto knew better. They could end up fighting this guy for real.

The next matchup flashed up onto the screen, surprising the two Sasuke fan girls.

_**INO YAMANAKA vs SAKURA HARUNO**_

"Hey, Naruto, watch this," the Uchiha said under his breath, nudging his blonde teammate with a wry smile on his face, "Sakura good luck, I want to see you in the finals," and with that he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Naruto had to admit the scene was priceless. Ino went red in the face in anger, and Sakura went red in the face from embarrassment and surprise at what had just happened. Sasuke had just changed the dynamic of the upcoming fight and it was priceless.

Now Ino wanted to avenge what she thought was lost love and win back Sasuke, and Sakura wanted to defend what she thought was the love she had earned. Naruto turned to his friend with a smile, "Man you've really done it this time. Do you even care that Sakura thinks you actually like her now?"

Sasuke just shrugged with the same wry smile on his face and for once Naruto couldn't work out what was going on behind the black eyes of the mysterious teen.

The fight started with Ino rushing to the side while throwing a number of projectiles; _trying to put Sakura in a position for her mind control technique no doubt_ Naruto thought as he looked on.

Sakura responded quickly, pulling a kunai from a leg pouch and blocking any of the kunai that looked close to making contact.

Ino had seen what Sakura could do with a single hit, and wasn't going to let the pink haired girl get close enough to land a punch.

Sakura moved toward the blonde and tried to close the distance but Ino wasn't having any of it. She quickly back stepped, throwing more kunai at the approaching kunoichi but it didn't stop her as Sakura just used her kunai to block any that she couldn't dodge.

Ino didn't know what she could do. All she had was her Mind Body Switch Technique and she couldn't perform that on Sakura if she was paying attention. _That's it!_

"Sasuke! Put your shirt back on!" Ino said as she went through a series of hand seals. While this may have worked brilliantly on old Sakura, it only slightly disturbed the kunoichi charging her as she saw a tick mark appear on her face and she stumbled slightly before recovering.

Ino hoped it was enough.

"You really think some underhanded trick like that will work Ino-pig!"

Ino had gone through the hand seals required but it was too late; Sakura was already bearing down on her and she couldn't get her jutsu aimed in time.

"I CONCEDE!" Ino cried out just before Sakura's fist could crash into her.

The pink haired kunoichi managed to acknowledge her opponent's cry of defeat and merely hit the girl, rather than add her chakra to what would have been a knockout punch.

The fight was uneventful but when they walked back up to the railing after Hayate called the match Ino turned to them and did something rather unexpected.

"I can see now why Sasuke likes you Sakura, you are a much stronger kunoichi than I am. But just you wait, I'll get stronger and I'll prove to Sasuke that I'm the one he should love!" the blonde finished with her usual fan girl fervor and went back to standing over with her team.

"Oh boy, look what you've gone and started now Sasuke." Naruto wasn't sure whether or not he regretted giving the boy access to his collection of Icha Icha.

Naruto could only laugh at the result of Sasuke's kiss and Sakura once again had no problem putting her arm around him. He couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy at the scene, even if he thought that he'd long since gotten over his hang-ups with Sakura.

"That would have taken some self control Sakura, to not turn around during that fight when Ino called out that Sasuke had his shirt off huh?" Naruto japed, having seen her stumble.

"Hmph,"

Before he could think about it any longer it was time for the next fight, a fight that he was actually interested in the outcome of.

This time it was Tenten's turn to duke it out with a member of the sand team. All he could do was hope she had what it took to overcome the blonde kunoichi after seeing how Kankuro treated his victim.

"Temari of Sunagakure vs Tenten of Konohagakure, begin."

Tenten opened immediately by launching a large number of projectiles from a scroll she had unraveled as soon as they were given the signal.

Temari wasn't fazed as she quickly brought her fan up, swinging it in a broad arc and producing a gust of wind so powerful that it forced the projectiles away from her midflight.

She was a complete counter to Tenten's conventional style of attack. That didn't mean that Tenten didn't have other avenues of attack, but her other methods weren't as strong.

After training with Naruto she started to realize the benefit of being able to use her weapons in close quarters combat as well as from afar and had started to train accordingly. With this in mind she threw a smoke bomb and created four bunshin to charge from the smoke.

Unfortunately for Tenten Temari just created another wave of cutting air that passed straight through the bunshin dispersing the illusions while also blowing away the smoke and nearly knocking Tenten from her feet.

She charged at the sand nin in the lull between her attacks but only made it half way across the arena before another wave of cutting air hit her. While she was stopped by the barrage of wind Temari just backed up to create more distance between the two that Tenten would have to traverse in cutting winds.

There was nowhere for her to hide or make an approach from. It was so infuriating and it was starting to work on the leaf nin's patience as small cuts started to bleed all across her body. She needed to try and end this now; she wasn't going to win a battle of attrition.

Knowing it was a longshot all she could do was try her strongest technique. Tenten placed two scrolls on the ground and activated them, causing two massive plumes of spiraling smoke to rise as the scrolls unraveled into the air.

Tenten jumped and began preparing to throw a massive number of weapons at the sand nin but as soon as she had left the ground Temari had her dead to rights.

The blonde quickly forced air towards the airborne Kunoichi with her massive fan, and directed it into a spiral. Soon a twister was raging in the arena with Tenten caught in the middle of it being cut repeatedly by the sharp blades of wind.

When it was all over she fell defenseless towards the ground, but Temari was already beneath her, fan now closed and pointing upwards, braced against the ground.

_If Tenten hits that on her fall she could be in serious trouble _Naruto thought, prepared to step in for the sake of his friend.

As Tenten continued to fall, it was evident to everyone that she was clearly in no state to continue fighting, but Temari clearly had no problem inflicting more damage than was necessary.

The collision never came. Tenten simply disappeared before colliding with the fan that Temari was holding out with a smirk.

When everyone looked around she could be seen lying with her friends and rookie genin up on the balcony. Naruto didn't appear to have moved, a stern look upon his face as he contemplated the attitudes of the sand ninja he'd seen so far.

Only a few people knew what Naruto had done and a few of the jounin had managed to catch a glimpse of someone rescuing Tenten, but it had only been for a fraction of a second.

Seeing as how the Konoha ninja was in no condition to fight and had already inexplicably exited the arena Hayate called the match in favor of Temari and the next fight was announced.

_**KIN TSUCHI vs SHIKAMARU NARA**_

So it was another sound village genin fighting the resident lazy bum Shika. From what Naruto could tell from the time he'd spent with Shikamaru though was that the guy was smart. Naruto couldn't tell how smart, but most likely smarter than a few of their present company combined.

_This might be an interesting matchup, might not be exciting but it'll be interesting._

Shikamaru and Kin hadn't fought before so this was new territory for both of them.

_Then again this could be quick. _

They all watched as the two stood in the arena just waiting for the other to make a move. Naruto noticed that Shikamaru had a look on his face that said he really didn't want to be there, _Typical Shika_.

Kin pull a number of senbon from a pouch and launched them at Shikamaru. Shikamaru noticed that a number of them rang with tiny bells as they flew.

_No doubt to disguise the ones without any bells._

"Hmmm a rather simple technique don't you think?" Shikamaru said as he dodged the majority of the senbon.

"My technique is genius! I still managed to hit you even when you dodged so I don't know what you are so confident about," Kin was annoyed that someone had the audacity to mock her technique.

She threw another batch of senbon, this time using strings attached to her previous bells to ring them in an attempt to distract the black haired genin who was obviously underestimating her. A few more senbon found their target.

She was destroying this guy, she didn't know what his problem was and she went to throw another wave but couldn't move.

"WHAT? What's happening? I can't move!"

_And checkmate, _Naruto thought from his position as a spectator.

"Well in your confidence you neglected to notice my shadows creeping across the floor. I had a few in case you decided to run, but it turns out you weren't as good as you claimed," Shikamaru said as he as he walked backwards, "All I had to do was make them thin enough that you wouldn't see them, or you thought they were the shadows of the strings you had, either way you're mine now," And with that he walked backwards a little further and fell flat onto his back.

The girl had no choice but to follow his movements and she slammed her head against the wall behind her, having been closer to the edge of the arena to begin with, knocking her out cold.

"Well that was boring," Kiba said with a yawn, "I wonder who's up next?"

His eyes widened when he saw the match up flash onto the screen.

_**NARUTO UZUMAKI vs KIBA INUZUKA**_

"Guess we won't have to wait until after to have a little fight after all Akamaru," Naruto said as he vaulted over the railing and landed in the arena.

"Stop addressing my dog like he's in charge!" Kiba yelled as he followed the blonde over the railing.

"Good luck Naruto-kun," the shy Hyuga of Team 8 called out after them.

"WHAT! You're supposed to be rooting for me! What is this? Pick on Kiba day?" Kiba was crestfallen that his teammate was supporting Naruto even if he knew she had a crush on him, "Come on Shino show me some support why don't ya!"

"Hmmm… Goodluck," Shino said almost inaudibly.

"Well gee thanks for your shining encouragement," Kiba said gruffly before turning back to face Naruto who was just chuckling at the whole scene.

"Before we start Kiba, let me take my weights off," Naruto said as he took off his jacket and flung it to the side for dramatic effect. It made an audible crash on the ground that surprised everyone.

"Naruto-san is so youthful!" Rock Lee shouted from his position on the sideline, surprised and excited that he wasn't the only person in attendance wearing weights.

Rather than take his boots and bracers off he simply disengaged the seals and rolled his shoulders out.

"Alright Kiba, hit me with your best shot,"

"Akamaru, let's get him," Kiba said as he tossed a small pill at the young pup and shouted, "**Gijū Ninpō: Jūjin Bunshin **(Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Beast Human Clone)," quickly followed by, "**Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu **(Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique),"

All of a sudden Akamaru had transformed into Kiba and the two looked identical as they faced the blonde on all fours. Naruto hadn't seen the full extent of Kiba's fighting ability in this stance and if he wasn't using Hiraishin he could say that he really didn't want to.

As they charged him Naruto quickly created a clone to counter one of the feral fighters.

He noticed that the style they fought with was much like his own style, although a lot more animalistic. It was an unpredictable brawler style and they lashed out with claws and feet trying to get a hit on either of the Narutos.

Naruto had yet had the need to draw a weapon, being able to block the attacks with this bracers but it wasn't before long that Kiba decided to change what appeared to be a stalemate.

Kiba lashed out at Naruto with a claw at head height, causing him to duck under the swipe and ready a counter attack. He was surprised though when Kiba continued his strike right into the side of his clone, dispelling it and giving the two 'Kibas' the advantage in the fight over Naruto.

Kiba was good for his age, Naruto knew, but after all the training he'd done he didn't have anything on Naruto as the blonde kicked what he assumed to be Kiba away and made some space.

"You're going to have to try harder than that if you want any chance of beating me Kiba. Hit me with your best shot."

At this point Kiba realized that he was only being toyed with. He knew Naruto could make a ton of those clones and just overpower the duo.

"Okay, well you asked for it. Akamura, **Gatsuga **(Fang Passing Fang)," the two Kibas started to spin, becoming blurs as they launched themselves at the blonde Ninja.

Naruto quickly formed a clone, and they stood waiting as the ninja and his dog spun around the room, waiting for an opening as the two blonde ninja stood and waited.

Kurenai leaned over to Kakashi, "Surely Naruto's not going to try and tank the hit? The kid's strong, but that's a pretty strong attack itself."

"I'm sure Naruto has a plan," Kakashi said, confident in his student's abilities.

Kiba and Akamaru decided to launch their attack.

As they flew through the air towards Naruto he held his right hand back toward the clone as it seemingly generated spinning chakra into an orb the size and shape of a rasengan.

_What's dobe doing? I've seen him use the rasengan one handed before. He's even used that big on before, why would he need a clone for a small one?_

Kiba and Akamura were just metres in front of Naruto and on the attack when Naruto thrust his hand forward, "Spiralling Explosion!"

He released all control on the now highly dense chakra and it expanded to an orb one meter across in a matter of moments before exploding completely.

The resulting shockwave rocked the arena and even left a sizable impression on the floor below the explosion. Kiba and Akamaru, having been on either side of it in their attack on Naruto were flung towards each end of the arena both sliding to a stop on the ground unconscious.

When Hayate and the rest of the competitors had recovered from the sound and shockwave of the move that had been amplified due to the indoor acoustics he declared Naruto the victor and the medic nin rushed to help the downed genin.

Naruto picked up the coat he'd thrown away earlier and shun-shinned back to the others.

Most of the genin looked in awe of the power of the move he had just displayed. Hinata was both amazed and a little shocked that he had done such a thing to his friend and teammate. Naruto noticed the concern on her face.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan, that's not nearly enough to keep Kiba down for long. It's good to get a decent beating every now and again, hell I get the crap beaten out of me regularly by ero-sennin and look how I am, just fine!" he added exuberantly to try and get everyone to cheer up.

"He mean's Jiraiya-sama guys, you know his god father the legendary Sannin," Sakura had noticed that a few of the genin were a little confused by who ero-sennin was.

"Yeah and he's a massive pervert, so ero-sennin fits." Naruto said defensively when his friends gave him a look that said 'you really shouldn't be talking about a legendary sannin and respected village shinobi like that'.

"Whatever guys, Kiba will be fine, the next fight is starting," Sasuke was still reading his book but still managed to pay enough attention to realize that the next fight was between Hinata and Neji Hyuga.

As Hinata and Neji jumped down into the arena Naruto walked over to his best friend.

"So dobe, when did you come up with that move, it's pretty flashy, I thought we weren't doing flashy today?"

"Yeah well you know, I needed to give some kind of show," Naruto said with a cheeky grin on his face, "And I came up with it a few days ago. Pretty neat huh?"

"Yeah, all I can say is I wouldn't want to be Kiba right now," Sasuke said returning his attention to his book before he was distracted by the dialogue taking place between the two Hyugas.

"Withdraw now. You know you'll never be a strong shinobi, weaklings will always be weaklings and you are destined to live out your fate as a weak and shy girl who will never amount to anything! You can't run from your true nature."

Hinata was visibly upset at the tongue lashing that Neji had been giving her since they got into the ring, and now that Naruto knew what was going on he was angry at the Hyuga boy.

"Hinata-chan! Don't let him tell you what you can and can't be, if you have the desire to change nothing can stop you from achieving your goal!"

"Except you know death maybe?" Sasuke said nonchalantly loud enough that only Naruto could hear as he continued to read his book and listen to the scene unfolding in the arena. He got a small punch in the arm from his friend before Naruto turned back to look at Hinata.

"You can beat this guy! Don't let him tell you you're worthless!"

Hinata, her confidence renewed, turned to face her cousin.

They fought like their lives depended on it. At first they traded blows equally with their gentle fist style, neither landing a hit, but it wasn't long until Neji showed why many, even Rock Lee, claimed he was the strongest genin to come out of Konoha.

He scored the first hit, and then another and his advantage multiplied and in moments he'd scored enough that Hinata was on the verge of collapsing.

Hayate called the match in favor of Neji when he noted that the Hyuga girl could barely stand.

"See you are worthless, a pitiful display of a ninja,"

"I'm sorry to see now that you are the one suffering."

"How am I suffering when you are the pitiful weakling of the main house?"

"You are suffering because you are obsessed with the fate of the main and side branches within our clan, because you are trying so hard to prove you are worthy of the main house,"

And with that Neji snapped, charging at the young defenseless girl with intent to kill.

Naruto went to move, but held back when he saw Kakashi, Hayate, Kurenai and Gai jump in and stop the boy.

"I already called the match, now stand down!"

The Hyuga had no choice but step back from Hinata and the jounin released him.

Naruto quickly shun-shinned down into the arena to catch the defeated and now unconscious Hyuga girl before she could hit the pavement.

"If I end up fighting you in the finals Neji mark my words that I will show what it means to change oneself by humiliating you in front of everyone, mark my words."

"Yeah? What are you going to do? It's not like Kiba would have been a challenge, you're just as much a loser as Hinata,"

"I will crush you into dust if that's what it takes for you to fear me. Because anyone who hurts my friends the way you hurt Hinata and the way you tried to attack her just now should be very much afraid."

With a cold look at the arrogant Hyuga Naruto shun-shinned back up to the balcony and carried Hinata to the infirmary.

"Will she be alright?" Naruto said as the medic-ninja made a preliminary assessment of her condition.

"She should be okay, any more treatment like this though and it might have been another story," _God damn it Neji you will pay for this you arrogant prick_.

Naruto was in no rush to return to the arena and when he finally made his way back he found Rock Lee on the ground with medic-nin rushing in to help him. Sasuke filled him in and apparently even though Lee went all out Gaara had still managed to crush his arm and leg.

From the look of the damage the kid might not ever be able to continue his career of a shinobi.

This Gaara really was a piece of work it seemed.

The final fight was between Chouji and Dosu from the sound village. Naruto was still put off by the earlier events, and didn't pay much attention to the fight. In the end Dosu managed to come ahead as the victor through the use of a sound technique that overwhelmed the Konoha genin.

At the end of the day, ten of the genin would be advancing to the finals and the matchups for the day were announced.

Neji Hyuga vs Naruto Uzumaki

Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara of the Sand Siblings

Kankuro of the Sand Siblings vs Shino Aburame

Shikamaru Nara vs Temari of the Sand Siblings

Sakura Haruno vs Dosu Kinuta

Each of the competitors locked eyes as Hayate continued.

"You all have one month to train and rest before the finals commence, you are dismissed,"

The genin left to lick their wounds, check on their teammates or just get some rest.

"I don't know about you guys, but I hope the finals last long enough for me to kick that Neji guy's ass," Naruto said as team 7 walked into the infirmary to check on Hinata before flashing back to his house to rest.

Karin, with nothing to do but sit in the house and read was laying on the couch when they arrived.

"Hey, how did it go?"

"We all got through, not surprisingly, but there were a lot of injuries, those sand ninja aren't exactly the friendliest people around, guess they've got sand in their cracks or something? Only reason I'd be angry like that all the time,"

This got a little chuckle from Sasuke as he sat and continued reading and Sakura could only roll her eyes at the two boys who had actually become fast friends since the Land of Waves.

xXx

Kakashi arrived the next morning to take Sasuke on a month long training trip, something Naruto had no problem with; he was the one with a sharingan after all.

When Jiraiya arrived at the compound Naruto was training and the Sannin blindsided the boy. Slamming a fist into his god son's mouth he sent the boy flying across the grounds and skipping across one of the small ponds.

"Hey! What was that for?" Naruto demanded of the Sannin when he walked back over sopping wet.

"That was your warm-up, now get ready for a month of getting your ass kicked; I'm not going easy on you. Oh and Sensei told me you had a defected kunoichi staying with you now," He leant in suspiciously and lowered his voice, "Have you seen her naked yet?"

Now it was his turn to be sent flying across the grounds, "WE'RE ONLY TWELVE YOU SICK BASTARD!"

And with that the training began; Sasuke with Kakashi, Naruto with Jiraiya, and Sakura had the help of a few Naruto clones or Jiraiya whenever he wasn't tearing Naruto a new one.

Jiraiya had upped his game so training with the Sannin really was just getting beaten to a pulp. Even when the pervert wasn't restricting him from using Hiraishin he still managed to get the upper hand, and so Naruto came in from training as sore as ever.

The only consolation he had was that he had Karin to keep him company whenever he wasn't getting his ass kicked, and it turns out she was actually a pretty decent medical ninja. He had no idea what Sasuke was doing in his month of training, but Naruto spent the month either getting a beat down from his god father or having Karin heal said beat down.

Sakura also was progressing well in her combat training and whenever she wasn't practicing her skills she had Karin explaining the basics behind medical ninjutsu; she figured it might be useful to have a medic-nin in the squad if they ever returned to normal missions.

What they didn't know was that Sasuke was getting almost exactly the same treatment as Naruto. All the while they were getting faster, stronger, and were learning a new jutsu.

Both Jiraiya and Kakashi had no doubt that Team 7 would be the ones to watch when finals time came around.

* * *

**So some of you were wondering if it would a be a harem and my response to that is no. Women very rarely share unless something happens in their life, changing their disposition or its a culture thing. Seeing as how it's not an evident culture thing from everything that can be seen in the manga and anime there really isn't much I can do to actually justify that happening. That and it'd have to be cool with Naruto, and he just doesn't seem like the type.**

**One of you commented about Orochimaru's fight not going the way you expected, but yeah you nailed it in the fact that he had people to protect. Naruto also didn't know it was Orochimaru until after he'd used his strongest combo move with Sasuke, and the guy didn't seem harmed. So Naruto wasn't about to just risk it in an all out fight. Which was why he attempted to retreat, the only thing stopping him being Orochimaru's threat on Tenten. And then almost straight away after biting Sasuke Orochimaru left, so he didn't need to get everyone away or go all out. In the end that's really the only way I saw that fight going down.**

**Finally, my quote was actually wrong. I was tired at the time, and I should have checked the quote before I challenged you guys :P I was going for Predator when he's trying to get the predator to fall for his traps. But you know.. I messed it up :P Hope you enjoyed the chapter guys and gals.**

**Okay that's it see you next time :P**

**Oh and review!**


	9. 9: The Chunin Exam Finals

**Hey guys I know I keep saying that I can't do more chapters for a while because of assignments, well if I actually don't upload the next one for a while it will be because I am swamped, just thought I'd finish this up as some final procrastination. Some comments on reviews at the end :)**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 9: The Chunin Exam Finals**

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xXx

(Two weeks before the chunin exam finals)

"So after everything we're just going to abandon our plan?" Kabuto queried his master as they stood in a densely wooded section of one of Konoha's many training grounds. Kabuto had made sure that he wasn't being followed before making his way to the rendezvous.

"Yes, I've seen them shift their routines slightly ever since that red haired slut got away from me,"

"You really believe Karin would have told them everything? You've always meant everything to her."

"She must have, I might have meant everything to her but attempting to kill someone can unfortunately change their opinion of you rather quickly. It does not matter, I still managed to get the seal on Sasuke; the invasion can wait. It's already waited this long so it won't matter if stews a little longer. We still have control of Sunagakure but I am worried about that Uzumaki child. He is already posing a threat with the ability to use such high level techniques at such a young age."

"Hai Orochimaru-sama, but what about Gaara, if he goes berserk during the finals Hiruzen will know that you disposed of the Kazekage, he was the only one that could keep him from a rampage."

"Yes, he will have to forfeit. We can't have him getting out of control. I'll make the arrangements and inform the ninja of Sunagakure of our change of plans. The invasion will have to wait."

xXx

Jiraiya had given Naruto the day before the finals off and without any training to do Karin couldn't help but notice how distracted Naruto had been. As they lay in bed that night she realized that he wasn't even close to falling asleep.

Sitting up and turning to him she asked him the question that had been on her mind all day, "Naruto, what's wrong?"

He knew he couldn't hide his feelings from the sensor, she always managed to pick up his mood, "I'm worried about the finals, about Orochimaru's planned invasion, about the sand siblings, and I'm worried about my friends."

"Naruto, I trust that you'll be strong enough to protect those you care about. After all, you were strong enough to protect me. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"But what if I'm not strong enough to protect the people that I care about? What if I'm not strong enough to protect my team, what if I can't even protect you?"

"Naruto, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You saved me from someone who is incredibly powerfexul, and I never even thanked you for it, so," Karin said as she leaned down and kissed the boy lightly on his lips, "Thank you. Now get some rest, you're going to need it tomorrow."

Karin curled up next to him with her head on his chest and fell asleep to the feeling of his amazing chakra coursing through her. It had only been a month since he saved her from the forest of death, but it had felt like so much longer for her.

Naruto didn't know what to think as he went to sleep with a slight tingle running across his lips. It had only been a month, but she was meaning more and more to him every single day.

xXx

It was finals day and Karin was disappointed that she didn't get to watch, but it was still too dangerous for her to leave the house.

As he prepared to leave she ran up to him and pulled him back inside, "You're my boyfriend now, so you have to kiss me goodbye," it was only a light kiss that she planted on his lips, but he was still surprised.

"Since when?" Naruto said going red in the face.

"Since I said so. You don't have a choice," Karin was determined that her warm and cuddly amazing chakra machine of a boyfriend remained hers. She'd also seen that Hinata girl checking him out. That bitch wasn't getting her man, no way! If she wanted him so bad she should have done something about it already.

"But, but, bu-," to be honest Naruto couldn't really think of an excuse as to why not before she cut him off.

"No buts, unless you were about to tell me how much butt you are going to be kicking today!"

When he realized what had just happened he smiled at Karin, nodded, and left through the front door.

"Pfft, he thought he had a choice,"

xXx

When Naruto arrived in the waiting area of the arena where the other genin were waiting to compete or offer support for their friends his eyes were glazed over a little as he thought about what had just happened.

"What's with that look Naruto?"

Naruto didn't even think about who heard his response because he was still just as surprised and confused by the whole thing, "Nothing, just Karin kissed me and then claimed me as her boyfriend as I left, it was kinda weird," he said it as if it was nothing.

He then realized where he was and that Karin living at his place was a secret. Luckily the only people present were Sakura and Teams 8 and 9.

Sakura could only laugh, while the other's all wondered who the hell he was talking about. Well everyone except Hinata, who had passed out at hearing that another girl had kissed the boy she loved so dearly from afar and that he was now her boyfriend.

When Hinata woke up she saw them all standing around her with concerned looks on their faces, but the look Naruto gave everyone was stern, "Until I tell you that it's okay, I never mentioned Karin, ever,"

Kiba looked about to question Naruto but the look he got from Sakura and the shake of her head shot him down. Luckily he didn't pursue the issue any further because the other teams arrived shortly after.

As the stadium slowly began to fill and a new proctor walked into the stadium he began informing the competitors and spectators of the rules, "My name is Genma Shuranui and I will be the proctor for today's event. The fights will proceed between two competitors until one competitor concedes or is unable to continue fighting. My decision is final so if I call a fight then you must stop whatever you are doing. There will be no one attacked after I make my decision. Besides that there really aren't any rules, so have fun with it."

The man was average in height and had brown hair and brown eyes; he looked pretty casual with his forehead protector worn in the style of a bandana and senbon sticking out of his mouth.

"Same as the prelims then. Anyway where's Sasuke, he should be here by now, I really hope he hasn't taken up another of Kakashi's habits. Turning up late all the time is decidedly more annoying than reading Icha Icha," Naruto said from his position overlooking the arena.

"Says you," Sakura said standing next to him, looking around the stadium for her crush.

"Hey, if you kissed him on the lips I don't think he'd even mind, and I'd bet it'd be because of Icha Icha, it's like he's conditioned to that stuff now."

Sakura blushed at the thought before turning away, hoping Naruto wouldn't notice, "Exactly, you can thank me later," Oh he'd noticed.

The arena was a circular pit with high walls. It was bare in the center with a slightly forested area going around the outside all the way to the walls. On one side was a massive stand that held the spectators and the Kage's box; where the Hokage and Kazekage were seated. The competitors were waiting in their own area that was lower in the stand and opened partway down the wall so they had a better view.

"Man Sasuke better turn up, this won't be any fun without him." Naruto was whining as the proctor called out the first fight.

"Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyuga," Genma called out, announcing the competitors for the first fight.

"Well time to show this Neji guy what I'm made of,"

"Remember Naruto," he heard Hinata call just before he jumped into the arena, "D-don't let him touch you,"

"Don't worry Hinata-chan, he won't be fast enough."

With Naruto's power still mostly unknown to the civilians of the village and his true strength only known to his fellow teammates many of the villagers were betting against him. Oh the money the bookies were going to make.

Naruto stood across from the Hyuga in the center of the arena and Hayate called a start to the fight.

"You should withdraw now Naruto, I've heard what you were like in the academy and even after that display with Kiba you are still no match for me, you will never be as strong as I am,"

"Actually Neji, I just came to show you what happens when you have such a shit attitude, oh and you know attempt to kill one of my friends. I'll give you one chance. Forfeit now and I'll spare you the humiliation."

"Heh, you really think you have a chance,"

"You're loss Neji,"

"So you keep telling me,"

"Guys you've been able to fight for a while now,"

"Oh yeah, well come on Neji, hit me with your best shot, if you can actually hit me."

"Don't underestimate my genius," Neji charged at the blonde as he stood waiting for an attack.

Naruto responded by reaching inside his coat and removing a piece of paper with a seal on it with his right hand and throwing a kunai at the Hyuga with his left hand.

Neji simply moved his head to the side and let the kunai fly past him. That was his first and only mistake.

To everyone's shock Naruto simply appeared behind the attacking Hyuga. In a quick motion he slammed his right hand onto the back of the genin, pushing him further into his charge and causing him to stumble but also applying a seal to the back of his clothing.

He caught the kunai with his left hand in the same motion and stood waiting for the Hyuga to recover.

_It can't be! The yellow flash of Konoha! _Shock spread throughout the villagers at just what this genin could do and who he might be. Before they could think about it any longer their attention was turned back toward the fight where Neji was screaming in pain.

Naruto stood next to a Hiraishin kunai that he had planted in the ground and Neji stood a few meters away, however every few seconds Naruto would reappear behind Neji cut him once and reappear next to the kunai in the blink of an eye.

He was only cutting him very lightly so as to not cause any serious damage so early in the fight.

Half of the villagers watching weren't even fast enough to see Naruto disappear.

"What were you saying about losers always being losers? I've cut you twenty times now and you haven't done single thing about it. You're making me think you can't do anything about, but that can't be true, not the genius of the byakugan."

Over the past month with Jiraiya and the help of his library Naruto had been able to work out how to apply a Hiraishin no Jutsu seal on an opponent if he had an already prepared seal written on sealing paper. The method he'd devised kind of worked like a temporary tattoo.

He merely placed the sealing paper facedown and channeled chakra through it, causing the seal to apply itself to whatever it was touching. It also meant however that he had to draw his seals reversed whenever he wanted to use that method of application, which he had to admit was extremely difficult at first.

This had allowed him at the start of the fight to place the seal on the Hyuga's back and was the reason he could always appear next to or behind the now bleeding genin.

"Surely there's something you can do in response?"

The Hyuga charged at Naruto in anger and frustration at having been slowly cut into. Whenever the blonde appeared he was never there for longer than a moment and then he was gone. He didn't even have the chance to use a defensive jutsu like the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven.

Neji had no understanding of what Naruto was doing and therefore had no way of countering it.

There was simply no way he could respond to the boy's movements.

"Surrender now before Neji, even after what you tried to do to Hinata I'm not the kind of person that want's to hurt you unnecessarily. I said I wanted to humiliate you. I have, now quit," Naruto tried to plead with the boy, but it only made him angrier.

Naruto brought his fist back, shifted his stance to a more solid one and disappeared, the moment he appeared an instant later his fist connected solidly with the face of the Hyuga and blood splattered as his nose broke beneath the punch.

The boy's body rag dolled as his momentum swept his feet up into the air slightly and he fell to the ground on his back, unconscious.

"The victor of this match is Naruto Uzumaki!" Genma called out, in awe of what he'd just seen. He knew Minato's signature technique when he saw it.

The medic-nin rushed over and carried the unconscious and bleeding Hyuga away to treat him.

"Yeah we never stood a chance against you in the prelims did we?" Kiba asked as the genin appeared next to them in an instant.

"Not really no," Naruto said with a friendly smile, "But that guys, is what I do to people who try and hurt my friends."

Gaara could be seen off and to the side staring at the blonde with a greedy look in his eyes. Temari and Kankuro were both concerned that the boy wouldn't follow the plan when it came time for him to forfeit.

It wasn't long before Genma called the next fight out "Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara of the Sand," just as he announced this another Konoha ninja jumped down and spoke to him.

"This match has been postponed until further notice, we are sorry for the delay. In the meantime we will be moving on," Genma announced to the audience, "Shino Aburame vs Kankuro of the Sand,"

It didn't take long before the two ninja were standing opposite each other and the fight was underway.

Shino knew the basics of puppetry ninjutsu from what he had been told from Kurenai and knew he had the advantage.

Kankuro had seen Shino's fight in the preliminaries and knew that the genin used some kind of insect in offensive and defensive jutsu so he went on the offensive, quickly unbinding his puppet and sending it toward the boy.

That puppet wasn't a joke and Shino needed to deal with it. Quickly reaching into his pocket he pulled a smoke bomb out, releasing it at his feet and giving himself the cover he needed to retreat.

"Hah, coward! Running and hiding, you should just quit now." Kankuro taunted from his position in the center of the field as he controlled the puppet charging into the smoke.

The smoke cleared and he got no reply from the stoic ninja that had retreated into the wooded area. Surging forward the puppet burst into the shaded forest area as Kankuro began searching for his target.

Everyone in the stands had a clear view as the bug wielding shinobi created a bug clone; making his escape through the trees.

Within seconds Kankuro thought he'd found Shino only to have the boy explode all over his puppet, covering it with insects.

"You think some insects can destroy my puppet!" Kankuro turned as Shino and another clone emerged from the tree line on either side of him and he went to move his puppet to intercept one of them.

Only the puppet didn't move.

Unbeknownst to Kankuro the Aburame clan is famous for utilizing chakra absorbing insects in combat and these insects are perfect for consuming the chakra strings that give a puppet master their control.

"What? How?" Kankuro quickly retreated into the trees before the two Shinos that were hot on his tail could catch him.

He quickly made his way to his puppet with Shino still in pursuit and ejected another set of chakra strings to regain control of his weapon.

The puppet stood for all of five seconds before collapsing back to the ground, the chakra strings once again consumed.

Kankuro had stopped, hoping he would be able to stop the two advancing shinobi with the puppet. Those five seconds had given Shino and his clone plenty of time to close the distance and begin a taijutsu battle.

It's safe to say that Kankuro would most likely have been able to take Shino in a taijutsu battle alone but as soon as he hit the insect clone it burst, showering him in deadly chakra absorbing critters.

Before the minute was up he was beginning to feel exhausted and it wasn't long before he was unconscious on the ground and Genma called the match.

The next match up was between Temari and Shikamaru and while it was exciting in that it was suspenseful you would have gotten more action out of a fight between toddlers. The only time Shikamaru was in danger of taking any damage was when he was hiding in the trees as Temari attacked him with her Sickle Weasel Technique.

He simply waited her out, and while she had tried to deal with him there was simply nothing to be done about it. She couldn't attack him from her range effectively and to get in closer would have meant being caught in his jutsu.

In the end he managed to corral her into a position where he could capture her but surrendered anyway.

"Shika did you really have no way of beating her once you had her, or were you just being lazy?" Naruto asked when Shikamaru made his way back to watch the next fight.

"Egh, had I won I would have had to continue fighting, and I couldn't just surrender at the start. You can't be seen having a woman beat you."

"HEY I HEARD THAT!" Sakura and Ino both chorused.

"See? Trouble-some," Shikamaru said as they stormed over to him.

"You do realize after that performance they will probably promote you anyway."

"Great," Shikamaru said sarcastically as Sakura and Ino started getting into him.

"Unfortunately Dosu is incapable of participating," Genma revealed to the audience, not wanting them to know that he had been found dead, "So Sakura Haruno will be advancing to the next round without a fight."

The crowd was full of noblemen, villagers, merchants, bookies, gamblers; all of them travelling from across the country to see the up and coming shinobi of the future. Needless to say they weren't happy about missing a fight.

"The next match is between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the Sand, however as Sasuke has yet to arrive we must withd –," As Gaara had seemed very unwilling to stick to the plan and go down to surrender, Temari had to take the chance, else they would risk everything.

She rushed down to Genma and interrupted him. When they were finished talking Genma once again addressed the crowd that was starting to get restless now that Sasuke was about to be knocked out before even fighting, "However I have just been informed that Gaara has withdrawn. Sasuke advances to the next round by default."

The people were somewhat pleased that the genin that most of them had come to watch wasn't completely eliminated and they might yet get to see him fight.

"The next match will be Naruto Uzumaki versus Shino Aburame."

"Should we even bother with this fight Naruto-san?" Shino said to the blonde as they made their way down to the pit.

"Wow, that's the most I've heard you say in one sentence ever I think," Naruto was actually surprised Shino had bothered to talk at all, "And I liked how you handled the puppet. You probably don't stand a chance, well you don't but where's the harm in trying? Shino you're my friend, I'm not going to leave you with any injuries. Permanent ones anyway, hahahahaha," Naruto was joking around but Shino sweat dropped, knowing that with Naruto's strength he could easily put an end to him.

Shino was quiet, but he wasn't a coward, whether or not he knew he would lose he wasn't going out there to surrender.

The crowd murmured in excitement as the blonde genin walked out into their view.

He was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but most people had now guessed that he was the son of Minato Namikaze so there were mixed feelings.

He had yet to unleash an unholy demon fueled wrath upon the village and was already showing great promise as a ninja despite his constant pranking as a child.

If Naruto could make a name for himself as a powerful ninja he might just get the respect he had always desired sooner than he thought.

Shino faced the blonde as they both stood ready and was the first to make a move when Genma called "Fight!"

Shino quickly made his way to the trees and Naruto went after him. The fight really was a no contest, with Naruto easily catching the bug wielder; however a quick punch revealed a cloud of insects, with Shino having used a switch similar to his fight with Kankuro.

Before the majority of the bugs could converge Naruto attempted to retreat but was too slow; however within seconds of being swarmed the blonde had disappeared in a puff of smoke, having merely been a shadow clone the real Naruto had created as soon as he entered the forested area.

"Nice Shino, but I saw you use the same strategy on Kankuro; did you really think I'd fall for it?" Naruto called out to the shinobi he was pursuing through the trees.

Shino was fast, but Naruto was easily gaining on him even without the use of his Hiraishin no Jutsu.

When he was within striking distance Naruto created two clones that he used to cut off Shino's avenues of retreat and forced him out into the open.

Now that he had nowhere to run Naruto quickly engaged the bug wielder and the fight was over within seconds, the blonde subduing the member of Team 8.

The crowd was rather disappointed that they didn't get to see a more action packed fight but from what they'd seen of the Neji fight Naruto had some unseen power, and they knew from the start the bout was going to be one sided.

Genma himself was a little disappointed he hadn't gotten to see more of Naruto's strength.

"Temari versus Sakura Haruno," the proctor called out signaling the next match. The crowd didn't know what to think. Temari seemed like she was a strong shinobi from her match with Shikamaru even if she was outsmarted, but the spectators hadn't seen anything from the pink haired girl.

Suffice to say there were a lot of members in the crowd that looked please they might see some girl on girl action.

Once they'd made their way down to the center of the stage Temari looked over to the Konoha genin, "You really think you can take me on?" She didn't look like much, and she only got through the preliminaries because that blonde kunoichi Ino was such a pushover, but she was on the same team as Naruto and that Sasuke kid, so maybe that counted for something?

"I don't doubt it, now bring it on air head!"

"Wow that was such an original joke," Temari said, her voice laden with sarcasm, "I think I'll punish you for just how shitty it was."

Once she'd made some distance she swung her fan out, using her signature Sickle Weasel Technique to kick up a ferocious storm of wind in the direction of Sakura.

The pink haired genin went through a series of quick hand seals "**Doton: Doryūheki **(Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)" A solid barrier rose out of the ground on short noticed and blocked the cutting barrage of air that was heading toward her.

As the wind died down Sakura let her wall drop and made a headlong charge at the sand ninja. Her speed surprised the sand ninja and even a lot of the spectators as she burst from cover.

Temari however was faster and she brought her fan up to blow the blunt genin away with another blast of her Sickle Weasel Technique. She collided with the wall of air just meters from hitting the sand genin square in the face, but instead of taking damage the genin to blur and fade into nothingness.

The crowd was surprised by the tactic, wondering where the girl had gone, and Temari immediately put her guard up. The fight almost ended there as Sakura burst from the ground in an attempt to knock Temari out with one hit.

The sand genin responded, quickly back hand springing out of the way and just managing to avoid taking a hit to the chin, but it was Sakura on the offensive now.

Temari was fast and had avoided her first attack, but the genin of Team 7 quickly closed the distance before Temari could assault her with her air jutsu and was forced to engage Sakura with taijutsu.

Quickly closing her fan and using it as a means to block and attack might have been a sound decision against any other genin but Sakura wasn't a normal genin.

Temari brought the iron fan up to block a punch Sakura had put most of her weight behind after closing the distance between them.

Everyone in the audience could only wonder what the pink haired girl was doing by continuing her strike on a metal fan; wouldn't she just hurt her hand?

Except in the end, when it came down to it, the fan lost the battle.

As Sakura's fist made contact with the iron she channeled as much chakra as she could manage into her fist and the fan crumpled, bending under the force of the attack.

The knockback was enough to blow the now useless fan from the sand genin's hand and put her off balance. Following through with her assault Sakura now easily overpowered the kunoichi whose main means of attack and defense was now gone.

Sakura followed through with a quick right handed swing at Temari's side, cracking a few ribs and drew her left fist back before smashing it into the now defenseless shinobi's sternum, sending Temari flying across the ground battered and bruised.

She tried to stand, but could barely make it to her feet after the beating she'd just received. _Two hits from that pink haired slut and I can't even stand._

Genma could see the condition she was in and called the match before Sakura could inflict any more damage, because she didn't look like she was about to stand down.

The crowd was surprised at the complete beating they had just witnessed. That genin was a monster. Two hits had sent her opponent flying. Team 7 was turning out to be the squad of the year.

The jounin in attendance wondered just how many mission requests Kakashi and his team would be getting once this was all over.

Genma announced to the audience that there would be one more fight left before the final, but due to continued absence of Sasuke Uchiha the fight would be delayed both to give him time to arrive and for Sakura to recover her from her fight.

So when Sakura joined Naruto in the stands after the medic-nin had carried away her opponent they had time to kill.

"You excited about fighting Sasuke Naruto?"

"Hah if the bastard even shows up, and what are you talking about, he has to beat you first!"

"We both know that that's not going to be a problem. I'm strong but I'm still not on the level of you guys yet, so I need to keep training. Doesn't mean I won't go all out, but I'm not expecting to win."

Gaara was standing in a corner of the room watching the two as they talked and it wasn't lost on Naruto.

"Yeah well try your best; I know you'll do great. You've already shown off what you can do. Now what does this guy want?" He was wary as the sand genin walked over and stopped in front of them.

"You and your team are powerful; mother has decided that she wants all of you."

"Yeah well your 'mother' can't have any of us." Naruto didn't know what the guy was talking about, but it didn't sound very great.

"But I will take you for her, she will drink your blood, she's getting quite thirsty," Gaara said with a dark and hungry look in his eyes. Yep, now he knew what he was talking about, so this guy was hungry for blood, well wasn't that just fantastic.

"Okay, unless you want the ass kicking of your life I'd back up right now," Naruto said. He didn't need this sand freak creeping out every genin there, "You're not touching any of my friends, at least not while I'm around to do anything about it."

"You won't be around to do anything about it,"

Before the situation could escalate any further the crowd murmured in excitement and all the genin looked down into the stadium to see what the commotion was all about. Naruto and Gaara were the only two who didn't look, both glaring at each other intently.

"Look it's Sasuke! He's finally here!" Ino squealed at the sight of the black haired genin standing next to his masked sensei.

Gaara backed away from the group after Kankuro walked up and urged him to leave them alone now that more attention was on the genin and the upcoming fight, leaving Naruto wary of just exactly what the twisted sand-nin was up to.

Before it could consume his attention too much he was greeted by his friend shun-shinning up into the waiting area to stand next to him.

"What took you so long teme?"

"Oh you know, I was on my way back to the village and stepped over a black cat. Had to go back and start the trip again."

Naruto sweat-dropped, "Seriously Sasuke, just stick to reading Icha Icha, that excuse was not only really bad, but I've heard Kakashi use it before."

Sasuke seemed a little crestfallen that his attempt to imitate his teacher hadn't gone as planned and then cried out when his pink haired teammate smacked him over the head, "That's for making me worry about where you were!"

Sasuke just rubbed the growing welt on his head as Naruto jumped into to stop a potential fight, "Hey Sakura save it for the fight, then you can go for your life, beat him up all you like then."

"Wait, I'm fighting her? I thought I was fighting Gaara?" Sasuke seemed a little confused at the situation having arrived so late.

"Yeah well that's what you get for arriving late. They probably would have disqualified you if Gaara hadn't withdrawn from the fight. And Sakura beat Temari, so the winner out of you two fights me. Now get out there," Naruto was inclined to throw both of them in the ring one on top of the other to see what reaction he'd get but decided that was probably not a good idea.

They both made it to the center of the arena and Genma gave them the go ahead, the crowd roaring in approval at the kind of spectacle they were likely to be in for.

Sakura had no idea exactly what Sasuke had improved on over this past month but figured she was about to find out. As he stood watching her, his eyes flared red, revealing that he now had activated his third tomoe in both of his eyes.

He blurred out of sight, surprising her with his incredible speed, and she only just managed to bring her hands up to block the quick flurry of strikes he made against her.

She quickly retaliated whenever she could, trying to land a solid hit on the fast moving Uchiha, but it was no use. With his Sharingan she may as well have been telegraphing her attacks and although had Sakura been able to make contact with the boy she may have been able to inflict damage he simply wasn't letting her.

He was able to redirect her attacks or simply avoid them, allowing him for a while to control the pace of the fight.

She quickly jumped back from their engagement going through seals as she retreated and slammed her fist into the ground before Sasuke could catch her, "Earth Release: Earth Style Haven!"

Three walls sprang up from the ground around her on an angle, all meeting at an apex, effectively trapping her in a hollow earth pyramid, but also protecting her from Sasuke's current attacks.

He looked about ready to charge an attack that would break her defense before he noticed a slight vibration of the ground with his kekkai genkai.

_You've already used this strategy before Sakura; don't think I'll fall for it again. _

A hand emerged from the ground in an attempt to grab his foot, but he easily avoided the attack now that he knew it was coming.

While he couldn't attack her effectively while she was underground he knew she had to surface soon or later, and so he stood waiting, the ground vibrating subtly as she made her way to the cover of the trees, knowing that she now wasn't going to be able to catch him off guard.

She emerged from the ground and jumped into a tree after her attacked had failed, but as she did so she locked eyes with the black haired boy that she so dearly cared for.

A boy that was slowly walking towards her with his guard down as he began taking off his shirt. The boy that approached her and beckoned her to jump down from the tree as he stood bare chested.

She did so without question and as she stood before him he leant forward and went to kiss her, until her inner voice screamed at her _**WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU THINK SASUKE WOULD DO THIS IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT! GENJUTSU YOU FOOL!**_

Realizing what it was at the last second, she broke the genjutsu with a quick "kai" only to be greeted with the sight of her crush about to pummel her.

She managed to get her guard up and they traded punches, Sasuke landing a few blows, with Sakura's not even coming close to due the Uchiha's efforts.

Moving back out to the center of the arena in view of all the spectators Sasuke managed to trip up the Kunoichi and she fell on her back, but not before she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down with her.

Naruto could see Ino in the crowd, red with anger at what she was seeing, Sasuke, tumbling on the ground with Sakura. They were in the middle of a fight, sure, but she wanted to get close to the black haired Uchiha in any way she could. Naruto elbowed Shikamaru and Chouji and all had a chuckle at her reaction.

Until she froze and turned her head slowly towards them, giving them a stare that certified her insanity, getting all of them to shut up before she decided to walk over and beat them over the head.

Sasuke took this opportunity and attempted to pin Sakura and force her submission, but as she lay on her back she quickly went through seals again.

Sasuke quickly tried to bring a kunai to her neck but it was too late as she sunk again back into the ground, grabbing the Uchiha to drag him down with her.

He broke her grip with a few strikes and escaped the stick fate that might have ended his fight early.

It wasn't long before she reappeared not far from where the scuffle had taken place looking tired.

Although she'd escaped, dragging Sasuke into the ground really was her last ditch effort in taking victory from the boy. She had no other options available to her. Her taijutsu was useless against the Sharingan and her Hiding like a Mole Technique had already been overused; it was next to useless against Sasuke.

She wasn't going to surrender though, no way in hell, and with a final charge she engaged Sasuke in what would be the final taijutsu encounter of the match.

He quickly made it past her guard and by misdirecting her attacks turned her around. A few quick strikes to her legs and she was on the ground, with him on her back. He had her arms pinned with his knees and was holding a kunai to her neck.

Genma called the match and the crowd erupted at the fight that they'd just seen. Team 7 was amazing. The speed and ferocity with which they fought was almost unheard of among genin.

As the two walked off together Sasuke turned to Sakura, "You fought really well out there today. And good work breaking that genjutsu, I thought I might be able to get the advantage over you with that, but you've really improved," Sasuke looked genuinely sincere as he complimented her.

Sakura blushed, and then went even redder when she thought about the fact that the genjutsu was a creation of Sasuke's mind. _Even though tactically it was sound, I wonder if he enjoyed coming up with it. _

Her mind jumped to the book she saw him pull out as he sat down and waited for the final match. She inwardly said a thank you to Naruto for giving Sasuke access to his collection.

"Nice fight teme, can't wait to see what else you've learnt over this past month, and that taijutsu was nasty."

"Yes it was," Rock Lee stood in the doorway to the waiting area with a crutch under his left arm and braces and bandages covering his body, "You copied the taijutsu I used in my fight against Gaara yes?"

"Yes, I thought if I was going up against Gaara I needed a way to get around his sand shield. It takes it out of me though; I don't know how you kept it up during that fight and then went beyond it. It was a great fight," Sasuke had actually been amazed at the speed the boy had moved around the battlefield. He certainly would not have wanted to fight Lee for keeps back then.

"When do they think you'll be back and ready for training?" Naruto asked cheerfully from his seat, wondering when the boy would be able to spar him.

"Unfortunately Naruto-san the medic-nin don't think that's an option. But I won't let these injuries stop me from fulfilling my dream!" Naruto noticed that the boys arm was bleeding as blood ran down the inside of his bandages.

"Well I hope you get better soon Lee, I want to spar you when you are well again." As Naruto said this he and Sasuke were called to the center of the arena and they left. Lee watched them leave and tears started run down his face at what he knew was a challenge he might never be able to meet. Naruto turned at the last second to see the once exuberant boy broken by his injuries.

Sasuke and Naruto made it to the arena, "Okay guys, give everyone the show they've been waiting for," Genma said casually as he backed up to give the genin room to fight. Both of them nodded in response, before disappearing in a blur, eager to start the fight.

Naruto wanted to win, and he knew that even with the speed training Sasuke had done and his three tomoe sharingan he had the advantage with Hiraishin; now he just needed to land a seal on his friend.

The blonde charged the Uchiha, throwing a Hirashin kunai past the boy before flashing to it, grabbing it and throwing it past the boy again as he turned to respond to Naruto's threat. In his place however Naruto had left another kunai stuck in the ground.

Repeating this Naruto was able to quickly form a perimeter of hiraishin seals around the extremely fast Uchiha. It was more reliable than creating a sea of clones and having each of the clones drop a kunai. He had tried that in the past and if a clone was dispelled he would lose the corresponding kunai as its equipment would dispel as well.

Sasuke cursed at the situation Naruto had put him in. He was trapped in the circle of kunai the blonde had spread around him, and he also had to try and deal with the constant attacks from the blonde. He noticed a piece of paper in the hand of the boy and he knew through the use of his sharingan that it was a reversed Hiraishin seal.

Naruto had no doubt worked out how to apply it to surfaces with the use of paper, so he couldn't let the boy touch him if he wanted any chance of winning the fight.

All Sasuke could do was take consolation that Naruto wasn't going to use the seal he already on the Uchiha for the purposes of winning the fight.

Naruto launched a kunai at him and created three clones, which teleported between a number of the Hiraishin markers encircling Sasuke. _No doubt he's trying to confuse me and draw my attention from the kunai flying through the air; I can't let that get near me._

Sasuke responded with his own kunai that knocked the Hiraishin kunai out of the air before it could get any closer. Naruto's clones then decided to throw their own kunai in the hope they would get past his defense.

Sasuke didn't let the crowd down as he continued to launch kunai at the incredibly fast and accurate hiraishin kunai Naruto was launching at him.

The circle however was getting smaller, with every kunai that was thrown landing within the original markers.

Naruto knew that Sasuke couldn't block kunai from every direction and so created ten clones that spread out around the boy, but Sasuke knew what was coming.

Every one of the clones threw a Hiraishin kunai at the boy and while he could deflect them some of them with thrown kunai and dodge the others and prevent them from causing injury that would only mean that Naruto would then be able to flash directly to his blind spot and eventually put him down with one hit.

He needed to get out of the circle, and the only way he was going to get anywhere near doing that was if he managed to take away Naruto's advantage.

Quickly going through hand seals Sasuke inhaled deeply before jumping up above the kunai as they converged on him "Fire Release: Great Flamethrower Technique." Rather than exhale one massive ball of fire, Sasuke had modified his original technique with more control and could now fire a refined stream of flames from his mouth. He rained death upon the clones that had all teleported underneath him in an attempt to subdue him when he fell back to the ground.

The original Naruto had also made to attack him, but as soon Sasuke began spewing fire, he retreated, launching a kunai at a tree at the edge of the battlefield and flashing to safety.

Not only had Sasuke defeated the clones, he'd also burned the seals off each and every one of the Hiraishin lying on or in the ground, giving him the short reprieve he needed.

"TEME! Do you even know how long it's going to take for me to replace those?"

"Just use your clones dobe," Sasuke said before going through hand seals that Naruto hadn't seen before.

Naruto had a look on his face that said he hadn't thought of doing that yet but when he saw Sasuke going through hand seals he got serious.

_So I'm going to see another of the bastard's new moves, I have to admit that flame thrower one was pretty epic. _Naruto was glad that he had such an awesome teammate on his team, but he had to focus, or he might actually lose the fight.

Sasuke's hand began crackling with lightning and he charged at Naruto. The blonde responded by forming a rasengan.

"Let's see whose attack is stronger shall we!" Sasuke shouted as he ran at the blonde, but neither of them got to find out. Before Naruto could even respond by throwing any of his kunai a sand storm kicked up.

When it cleared both the genin had stopped out of confusion and a mad looking sand ninja with a gourd on his back stood between them.

"Yes, I've seen enough. Mother is hungry and you two will do just fine!" Gaara cackled maniacally as the two genin stared him down and the jounin in the stands went to restrain him.

"NO!" Naruto called out to the stands, "Don't move, everyone is here today to see a fight, well we'll give em one they won't forget. Besides I've got a bone to pick with this guy about what he did to Lee." Rock Lee was in the stands and was in awe of Naruto and Sasuke's ability to fight. But also that Naruto would stand up for what had happened to him in the preliminaries.

The jounin hesitated after hearing that Naruto and Sasuke would fight the sand genin but they still looked ready to move. This was not what they needed when Orochimaru could invade at any time.

Orochimaru himself was in a spot of trouble. If he tried to force the genin not to fight he might enrage him into releasing the Shukaku, and that was something he couldn't afford. He also didn't want to let him fight Naruto and Sasuke because if he took any considerable damage he would most definitely release the demon sealed inside him.

"Gaara, stand down, do not fight them!" Orochimaru called out to the boy hoping that he wouldn't go ahead with his attack.

Gaara snapped, he'd had enough and he wanted the blood of these two powerful genin, "NO! I WANT THEM, MOTHER WANTS THEM, I WILL TASTE THEIR BLOOD!" and with that, in the middle of a village packed with people, Gaara started layering sand onto his body.

* * *

**So guys :) Hope that was an alright chapter, for some reason I had trouble writing this one, normally they don't take me as long, but there were a few times I felt like I'd written something and it didn't feel right. That and I wrote a fair chunk of it on the train and in transferring through dropbox to my main comp I deleted my progress... soooo that was gay. Anyway hope you enjoyed it, and review review review!**

**Serialkeller - So i've answered in this chapter why Naruto just doesnt make a bajillion clones and then have then drop Hiraishin. But a) So far he's never really had the need to do that. And b) I figure if he makse a clone and it is dispelled then everything that belonged to that clone would also be dispelled.**

**Tamult - thanks for the massive reply, tbh i just didn't see a harem happening in this story, like it didn't seem to fit, that and I've read about a bajillion harems... soo it's kinda old... Naruto can't just magically get all the babes...**

**Gliding One - thanks for picking that up, I updated it to say tokubetsu jounin :)**

**BigBossVince - I didn't have to justify it with realism, but I feel I should justify most things. Idk it's what I do, maybe it comes with being an engineering student, or I'm just weird, but no worries :)**

**I apologise if the Neji fight didn't have heaps more action, but well Naruto kinda shits all over Neji in this story so it was never going to take long.**

**To everyone else who is worried about Naruxhina and all that if I don't make a Harem, which I'm not, I hope this chapter made it more clear what the pairing is. Which is NaruxKarin. Anyway if you managed to read up to this part without getting bored I commend you, and you should review ;P until next time (which hopefully won't be too far away, but may very well be).**

***Also I've noticed that I'm at like 5000 views for chapter one, which then drops down to 2000 and then 1000... can't believe I lose so many readers on the first two chapters :( but at least I still have you guys! Sticking with my first ever story yeeewww! Glad I can entertain you guys in some way :P**


	10. 10: Jinchuuriki Showdown

**Hey guys, been like a whole 2 weeks, that's crazy, anyway sorry it took so long to get this out to you, had trouble writing the chapter, and then when I felt like writing it I had work to do and stuff so yeah, but here it is, enjoy :) All the reviews mean a lot :) Just a quick note, there was some guy who reviewed that my math was wrong. I deleted the review so as to not confuse other people. To the guy who reviewed maybe it wasn't clear in my writing but you are the first person to assume I was talking about 4 years of training in one day. Which would be ridiculous. 4 years in one month, which while still ridiculous, isn't as ridiculous given 200 clones a day at 6 hrs a day, anyway mini rant over, enjoy the chapter guys/gals.**

**Also another note: My chapter titles are very unoriginal, I try to make up for that with the actual chapters, hopefully I'm still succeeding :P**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This fact saddens me greatly.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 10: Jinchuuriki Showdown**

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Gaara stood between the genin; blonde and black haired ninja staring down the red head. The boy had a mad look in his eyes as he cackled, the urn on his back breaking and sand from the ground gathering around his feet.

The substance travelled up his body and enveloped his arms, transforming the once small limbs into giant claws made of sand.

_NO! He can't! Our father will have us killed for not keeping him in line. _Temari was a wreck, but she knew there was nothing she could do about the situation that was unfolding in front of the entire stadium.

xXx

"The only reason I'm allowing this to continue is because I trust Naruto's judgment after everything I've seen of him. If this escalates any further, –"

"It won't, you have nothing to worry about Hokage-sama, I won't let this out of my control," the Kazekage said, trying not to show how nervous he really was about the situation.

Something was amiss, and Hiruzen wasn't letting him get the slip on him.

xXx

Gaara was the first to attack, hungry for blood. Reaching out with his claw he went to slash at Sasuke but turning his back on Naruto was his first mistake.

With the use of his sharingan Sasuke easily avoided the slow but powerful sand attack while Naruto threw a kunai at the back of their combatant.

To his chagrin the attack was swiftly blocked by a wall of sand rising from the ground faster than he could blink; but it was nothing he couldn't deal with.

Teleporting in close to the kunai Naruto took a step before slamming a regular sized Rasengan against the sand wall that had only just appeared. It lost all of its form as the A rank jutsu blew it apart, giving the blonde enough time to slip through the sand guard and slap a piece of paper to the back of the genin with his left hand while following up by slamming a punch into his head, chakra burst and all. The sand ninja stumbled from the strike but recovered easily.

Before Gaara could turn and respond to the genin that should never have been able to get that close to him the threat was gone and Naruto was standing next to Sasuke. These pests were strong, but they were also cowardly, why couldn't they just face their fate and die!

"So," Naruto said casually as he stood next to his teammate with his hands in his coat pockets, "how do you want to take this guy, I got a seal on him, but I'm not sure how much use it will be. That punch should have floored him, he must be using some kind of sand armor on his body."

"Yeah you should have seen the fight with Lee. He only just managed to crack it," Sasuke responded, having been the one to see the fight out of the two of them.

"Well whatever we use is going to have to have some punch if we want to get through it." He looked over at his teammate to see him smiling, "What? You have an idea?"

"Yeah, just get me in close with that seal of yours, I'll handle the rest."

"Whatever you say, just don't steal all the glory,"

"Tch, yeah as if I'd let you have any,"

"STOP UNDERESTIMATING ME!" the two genin had just been casually standing and talking strategy as Gaara stood ready to attack them. They should have been afraid of him! Everyone was afraid of him!

He charged at them, swinging his two massive arms and launching barrages of sand shuriken at the Konoha shinobi. They dodged easily but it gave Gaara time to close the distance and to everyone in the stadium it looked like he had the genius Uchiha dead to rights.

Sasuke stood going through hand seals as the rampaging sand Jinchuuriki approached, but before he could land a crushing blow his second combatant distracted him.

The blonde was making a move to attack from the left, a glowing blue orb in his hand as he flew across the ground with incredible speed. Gaara responded with a gnarled sand claw that hit only air as Naruto disappeared.

The next moment Gaara felt the Rasegan impact with the side of his armored face, and while the sand took the most of the damage he was flung from his charge at Sasuke and flew through the air.

Quickly recovering with the use of his grossly oversized limbs he stood upright and turned back to the two Konoha genin as angry as ever.

"Sorry," Sasuke said, his hand now glowing with electricity, "But you're going to have to try harder than that, too bad you won't get a chance,"

"GAHHHH MOTHER WA-,"

"Now Naruto,"

Gaara saw the boy disappear and a moment later he was screaming. He had never felt such pain in his entire life, and when he looked down he saw the source of his agony. A hand covered with electricity was jutting through his shoulder from behind. The attack had been directed at his heart but his sand defense had reacted just fast enough to deflect the strike, sending it through his shoulder instead.

Blood was gushing from the wound and before he could respond to the attack his attacker reappeared in front of him, the blond holding onto his shoulder.

"You really went for the kill shot? I mean yeah he's a freak, but we don't need to kill him dude," Naruto knew that Sasuke was still ruthless but even he hadn't been expecting that.

"Eghh, he wants to kill us, I figure it's only fair game," When he put it that way Naruto guessed he had a point, but still.

_Oh god! What have they done! No one's managed to make Gaara bleed in his entire life, what's he going to do!_ Temari knew it was only a matter of time before Gaara completely lost control; they didn't have much time left.

Gaara was definitely losing it. These two ninja had to die a painful crushing death, and as he gathered endless amounts of sand from the ground his form grew and it wasn't long before a giant Tanuki at least two stories tall was standing in the pit staring down Naruto and Sasuke.

"Is that a Tanuki?" Sasuke wondered out loud. The beast roared in anger.

"I don't know teme, but maybe we should avoid pissing it off until we work out how strong it is."

It began thrashing about, completely tearing up the pit and launching debris at the audience. Any rocks that weren't blocked by the jounin in attendance exploded amongst the stands, and cries of fear erupted from the spectators.

"Teme, let's take this somewhere a little more isolated, we can go all out then, we can't risk him hurting the villagers," the Uchiha nodded in agreement at Naruto's suggestion.

Naruto had more room to fight in his compound, he just need to make sure Gaara didn't break down his house because Karin was still locked inside, that, and he had a sweet house. The protection seal should hold up, but if this guy got any bigger he might actually do some damage. But even if it was a risk to his place he needed to get this guy away from all these people. He couldn't have any of his friends in danger.

"No, NARUTO! What do you think you are DOING!" Kakashi had lip read the young blonde and was worried for his student. He really thought he could take this guy? He was a monster!

But his cries were too little too late; Naruto had already grabbed the Uchiha, teleported to the sand ninja, placed his hand on the back of the monster and the three disappeared.

xXx

Karin was worried. She had felt the presence of Orochimaru in the village, and now Naruto, Gaara, and Sasuke were just outside in the compound. She had no idea why, but she knew that before disappearing they'd been engaged in a fight.

Even Karin had to admit that her ability was incredibly useful. She ran to a window to watch what was happening outside.

The two shinobi and the sand monster fell to the ground and separated, Gaara confused as to what exactly had happened.

"**Where have you taken me!"** Gaara's gravelly distorted voice echoed out from the giant sand monsters mouth.

"Somewhere where we can fight without endangering all those people."

"**It won't matter! Hahahahaha I'll kill you and then I'll kill your friends, and you won't be able to stop me, Mother demands it!"**

"Sorry to disappoint, but that won't be happening. Dobe's right, you might be able to go all out now, but so can we," Sasuke turned to Naruto, "Let's take him out before he gets any bigger, I don't know about you but I don't have anything that can take down a monster the size of the Hokage building so I'd rather he didn't get any bigger,"

"Right, I've got an idea. Right now I don't see us punching through that much sand even with that new move you have. It's really our only shot, got it? Give me a fireball when I tell you alright?"

"Yeah dobe, just give me the signal but we need to end this quickly, unlike you I can't do this all day." Sasuke said jumping back from a downward slam that Gaara had launched at him. Naruto noticed the Uchiha was starting to look tired, those new moves of his must really take it out of him.

"Right," Naruto made his move toward the sand monster that was just continuing to grow in size, "OI WHAT DOES A FAT TANUKI THINK IT CAN ACTUALLY DO AGAINST THE GREATEST NINJA OF ALL TIME!"

"**I'LL KILL YOU!" **Gaara screamed as Naruto threw of a barrage of Hiraishin Kunai, peppering his body and the ground around him.

"Start getting that fireball ready," Naruto called over his shoulder as he ducked and weaved the deadly strikes Gaara was throwing, merely trying to bide his time long enough for Sasuke to gather chakra.

When Gaara realized he couldn't hit the nimble blonde he withdrew and inhaled before exhaling a torrent of air infused with sand, the attack looked like it was about to make contact with Naruto but at the last second he disappeared, reappearing over near one of his kunai out of harm's way.

The sand monster turned again and exhaled another deadly torrent only this time it was directed at Sasuke.

"Now or never teme!"

Sasuke disappeared a fraction of a second after Naruto appeared next to him and the two reappeared behind the giant Tanuki, jutsus at ready. The sand creation roared in anger at once again being unable to keep up. "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) **Futon: Daitoppa**(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)".

The raging blue inferno collided with the Tanuki as it turned to face them. As soon as it made contact it began crystallizing the sand. The sheer heat of the attack when it made contact and passed around the giant Tanuki turned it into nothing more than a giant opaque glass statue.

They could see it shaking as the ninja trapped inside struggled to release himself, but before he could make another move against them Naruto was already back on the offensive.

"I'll be back in a second teme."

"Wait, what? Where are you going?"

"This is going to suck," Naruto whispered under his breath.

Naruto created two clones that start generating chakra between the two of them in a manner reminiscent of his fight with Kiba. The original quickly appeared next to the glass Tanuki and threw a kunai as hard as he could manage directly up. When it looked like the kunai was coming to a stop he teleported to it before fling it even higher and disappeared again.

Reappearing over one hundred meters in the air above the still struggling Gaara, Naruto began forming a giant Rasengan above his head before turning toward the ground. Just as he began his rapid descent the two clones appeared above him and released the jutsu, dispelling themselves and creating a powerful shockwave that propelled the original at an ridiculous pace towards the ground.

Sasuke just watched with his mouth open as his friend rocketed towards Gaara as he struggled.

"Why is my best friend completely insane?" Sasuke asked himself, "And why do I think this is completely awesome?"

The collision was monstrous. The shockwave that rang out as Naruto and his Rasengan collided with the statue and then subsequently the ground as the glass Tanuki was obliterated was enough to almost knock the Uchiha over.

Dust and debris were kicked up in the wake of the attack and Sasuke had to admit that if Gaara could stand up after taking that hit then he really was something else.

Karin was amazed by the attack, and the ingenuity that Naruto had shown in getting the power he needed to destroy his combatant. Yeah, her boyfriend was a badass. She was glad that she could sense that he was still okay, that looked like it could have really done some damage; freefalling one hundred meters is generally not a good idea, even when not being propelled by a shockwave.

She could still feel Naruto's life force going strong, if a little less vigorous than usual, but that was to be expected, he'd just been through the fight of his life.

What confused her though was that she could still sense the sand ninja, surely he couldn't still fight after that hit?

As Naruto lay in the rather large crater that he'd just created in his own compound he knew something was off. Quickly hiraishining to his teammate Sasuke was surprised when Naruto appeared next to him lying on the ground.

"Hey dobe, even I'll admit that was pretty sweet, now lets get back to the others, you dealt with this guy."

"Actually I don't think I have," Naruto said from his position on the ground, "I felt the ground moving in the crater, I don't know how but he managed to survive, no one should have been able to survive that."

Sasuke was curious as to how someone could live through a combination attack like that.

Gaara was equally surprised at the power of the attacks that were getting thrown at him. He was furious that they'd almost once again managed to take him out. His shoulder would have bled profusely if he hadn't plugged the wound, and he was covered in light burns. He'd managed to tunnel out of his glass prison with the use of some sand that hadn't been crystallized completely.

He felt the shockwave that the attack had generated. If anyone had been on the receiving end of that they'd have been obliterated. It was time for him to show them the true power of a jinchuuriki, no more playing with his dinner, so to speak.

Naruto and Sasuke were almost on their last legs and what emerged from the ground in front of them really didn't help their situation.

As they stood waiting for the attack that they knew would come a giant sand Tanuki once again appeared, emerging from the ground, this time easily twice as large as the last one.

"Guess it's my turn now, seeing as how you couldn't handle him dobe," Sasuke said to his teammate that was now standing next to him.

Sasuke knew he was almost out of chakra, but as powerful as his friend was he really didn't see how he could defeat this monster by himself.

He drew on every ounce of chakra that he could, prepared for whatever attack was going to come. And then he drew a little bit more. Black lines and seals began emerging from the cursed seal that Orochimaru had placed on him a month ago, and cascaded across his body.

Sasuke felt the power surge through his body, but with this insane power came pain. Pain that surged through every part of his body, pain he had felt the first time the seal had been placed on him.

"SASUKE!" Naruto screamed as his friend collapsed to his knees screaming.

That was all the opportunity Gaara needed to attack, rushing forward with incredible speed for his size. Naruto, distracted by his friend's situation didn't react to the giant sand arm sweeping in from the side in time.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke just as they were hit and disappeared. The momentum imparted on them as they disappeared was enough to carry them straight across the ground from where they appeared out of the reach of the Tanuki and into a tree as Naruto tried desperately to get them out of danger.

The blonde had managed to mitigate the damage to himself and his teammate as much as possible, but Sasuke was now useless. The impact with the tree and the pain from the seal had rendered him unconscious and battered, the seal receding now that Sasuke wasn't drawing on its power.

xXx

Karin was distraught as an injured Naruto and an unconscious Sasuke appeared in front of her in the living room. She immediately went to work on healing Naruto's wounds but was pushed off.

"Sasuke, help Sasuke first, I need to go back and finish this," Naruto said, his voice slightly deeper than usual.

She could feel another strange chakra that she had yet to feel emerging from the boy as he stood with a blank look in his eyes, a chakra that scared her.

xXx

"Where am I?" Naruto was confused, one minute he was standing next to his defeated friend, and now he was in some random sewer.

"**You are in your mind,**" a gruff voice said. The voice emanated from behind a series of bars, a voice that Naruto recognized.

"You! You're the one that gave me the power on the bridge. The Kyuubi."

"**Good to know you can put two and two together. You can't even beat the Shukaku though, how depressing. You are as useless and pathetic as a vessel as I'd come to think.**"

"You know what that thing is?"

"**Yes you little brat, that ninja is like you, he contains one of the tailed beasts.**"

"Well are you going to help me? Or are you going to sit there being a useless fox? You've been sitting inside me for my entire life getting me nothing but disdain, how about you help me for once?"

"**And why should I help you? You're my prison, why would a prisoner help his warden?**"

"Because neither of us asked for this, and because I'm going out there whether you help me or not, what happens if I die?"

"**You'd really risk your life for your weakling friends?**"

"You've been stuck with me for my entire life, don't tell me you don't already know the answer to that question."

The Kyuubi just grunted before expelling some of its power through the bars to help the boy. Well he was the Kyuubi; if the kid got any more riled up he might be able to take control and escape. So it wasn't all for nothing.

xXx

"I will not let this monster hurt any more of my friends! I'll protect them at all costs," Naruto was furious that Sasuke had been hurt; he was supposed to protect his teammates. A red chakra cloak surrounded him as his whisker marks grew more pronounced and his fingernails grew into claws.

"Look after Sasuke, and I'll stop this monster from hurting anyone else," Naruto said with a furious look in his eyes that frightened Karin. If she was ever the reason he was like this she didn't know what she'd do. He disappeared.

"You really think you can take me! I now realize why you are so strong. The Jinchuuriki of Konoha, but that means nothing now. I will destroy you!"

"NO! I will do anything I can to stop you from hurting anyone in this village. This is my home, and these are my friends and I will stop at nothing to protect them from you or anyone else." Naruto's resolve had never been stronger, and as the angry power of the Kyuubi surged through him he was more confident than ever.

Rushing through a series of hand seals and pouring as much chakra as he could into them he summoned the one creature he knew would be able to help him against a monster of this size.

"What do you want Jiraiya!" Gamabunta roared as the smoke of the summoning began clearing.

"It's me!"

"Brat, what do you think you are doing summoning me!"

"Look there isn't time to explain much but I'm fighting the Jinchuuriki of the Shukaku, we need to stop him before he does any more damage, or gets any bigger." Before their very eyes however Gaara appeared on the top of the head of the massive construct.

"Say hello to mother," and with those words he closed his eyes and his head lulled, the boy falling asleep.

"What? Why is he falling asleep in the middle of a fight?"

"**BAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU THINK A SIMPLE TOAD IS ENOUGH TO STOP ME!**" A voice boomed out from Shukaku as it grew. A tick mark appeared on the brow of Gamabunta and at that any trepidation he had about fighting disappeared.

"Kid, get serious, he's trying to fully release the Shukaku, we need to stop him NOW!" Gamabunta had been having a chill day too; luckily he hadn't cracked open the sake he had been just about to drink.

How did a kid even get into fights like this? He had to admit that he liked the kid though, he'd seen him fighting Jiraiya occasionally and the boy had talent.

The towering sand creature began growing in size again. And was now almost on par with Gamabunta.

"What do I do?" Naruto was running out of ideas.

"We need to wake him up, hit him in the head or something, I don't know we just need to wake him up before the Shukaku gets fully released."

Right, that didn't sound too hard, all Naruto needed to do was throw some kunai to get close and then it'd all be over. But the kunai he threw never made it that far. The construct just blocked them with its massive arms.

There wasn't any way that Naruto could make it close. He attempted to Hiraishin to the seal on the back of Gaara, but the clothing that he'd applied it to was singed and cut from the previous attacks. The seal must have been damaged.

"You're going to have to get me close!"

"Righto kid, hold on tight,"

And with that the giant toad moved in with incredible speed to attack the ever-growing monster.

Despite their efforts Shukaku was too quick, his manipulation of the sand too powerful and every strike Gamabunta made was quickly blocked by the monstrous sand limbs. After deflecting the incoming strikes the Shukaku flicked its massive tail around and slammed it into Gamabunta, knocking him away.

The tailed beast inhaled before a massive sand infused air bullet emerged from the mouth of the exhaling Shukaku flying toward the toad still recovering from the previous hit.

Gamabunta only managed to get his arms up in time to partially block the attack but even after taking damage immediately jumped back on the attack.

"Boss Toad! He's too quick, we need to slow him down, what water techniques do you have?"

The toad didn't respond verbally, but his actions showed that he'd been listening.

Shukaku blocked and diverted the strikes of the toad knowing that he was not at full power, and if his arms got locked in a struggle there was little he could do to stop the blonde brat from making it to his pathetic vessel and waking it.

But the physical strikes weren't the end game for the massive toad. As soon as he'd finished his barrage he paused and exhaled a number of large powerful water balls. Even Naruto was surprised at the ferocity of attack.

The impacts the water shots made with the arms of the Shukaku rang out as massive booms. Naruto was surprised he didn't have an audience with the scene they were making. He kind of wished he had someone watching what he was planning to do now.

"Now THROW ME!"

"WHAT!"

"DON'T ASK QUESTIONS! JUST THROW ME!"

And with that the toad, confident in Naruto's abilities, well as confident as you could be in someone who wished to be thrown at a massive sand construct that could easily crush them, grabbed the boy from his head and threw him as hard as he could at Gaara.

Naruto had been hoping that with his arms damaged and wet the Shukaku wouldn't be able to get his hands up in time. They didn't come up fast enough to knock him from the sky, but he raised them fast to enough to try and prevent Naruto from making it to Gaara.

The blonde wasn't having any of it. Turning in mid air he went through a series of hand seals before "**Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)" releasing a massive torrent of air from his hands that further accelerated his already insane flight speed.

Turning back to face the giant sand guard he thrust his arm forward, forming a giant demonic chakra infused Rasengan seconds before impact. Naruto barely slowed. With the speed he hit the damaged and wet arms the Rasengan carved through the inconsistent sand like a knife through butter.

Naruto rocketed through the air as the Shukaku tried to bring defenses up but it was too late. Any wall that he brought up to stop the human bullet that was Naruto Uzumaki was simply not enough.

The blonde let his rasengan fade as he drew closer to the sleeping Jinchuuriki. Rasengan or not the attack had to hurt. Naruto's fist collided with the boy's face, and at the speed he made contact, well you wouldn't want to be Gaara afterwards. Within seconds the construct was falling to pieces, the Shukaku temporarily defeated and the two ninja began their descent, one exhausted, the other barely conscious.

Gamabunta caught Naruto as he fell and set him on the ground.

"That was ballsy kid, I like your style, bah! To think I'd ever say that to a little runt like you! Hahahahah see you around," The massive toad just chuckled before disappearing in a massive plume of smoke.

The fight now over Naruto forced the Kyuubi's chakra away, much to the disappointment of the fox. Without the help of the tailed beast's chakra he certainly felt his exhaustion, but he still had enough juice to walk over to the sand ninja and look down at him.

"Are you going to kill me?" Gaara asked from his position on the ground, blood pouring from his face.

"Why would I do that? I've stopped you, and now you know I can stop you. If you try this again though I might not be as nice about it."

"Why do you try so hard to protect this village? I know what you are, they know what you are," Gaara was having trouble talking now, choking, pausing, and stuttering from all the damage Naruto had inflicted.

"Because this is my village, and if I can protect them maybe they'll realize that I'm not the monster that they think I am. That and true strength comes from doing anything to protect those that you care about. And I have people that I care about and who care about me."

"Huh," was all Gaara could manage.

Naruto bent down to pick up the boy and disappeared in a flash.

xXx

Everyone was surprised when they saw Naruto appear in the middle of the stadium, a broken but still conscious Gaara slung over his shoulder. Walking up out of the pit to where the sand ninja had been spectating the fights he dropped their brother at their feet.

"There you go, all yours now. I've had enough crazy for one day,"

And with that, before they could say a word, before they or anyone else could express the shock that they were feeling at what had happened, Naruto disappeared. He really needed a very well deserved rest.

He didn't even notice the Jounin standing in the room preventing the sand ninja from leaving.

xXx

(The Kage's Box at the time of Naruto, Gaara, and Sasuke's disappearance)

"I thought you said you had this under control?"

"Yes, well excuse me, I have business to attend to," Orochimaru stood, he needed to get away from here, this was not how this was supposed to play out, that bastard Jinchuuriki Gaara might have ruined everything.

"I think not, explain to me why you couldn't keep your subordinate under control,"

_He's starting to suspect something_. If anything Orochimaru was paranoid. Paranoia and careful planning are how a shinobi lives a longer than average life after all.

"I'm afraid I can't do that right now Hokage-san,"

"Well I can't let you leave Orochimaru," Hiruzen had started to expect Orochimaru more of the treachery with every little thing he was learning. The subtle and almost unnoticeable flinch gave him the verification he needed.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Give it up, you think I wouldn't be able to pick up on the tricks of one of my own students? Maybe if I had no idea of any of your plans, but thankfully I do, now stand down and turn yourself in."

Orochimaru knew that with the situation as it was there was no way he was going to be able to exact revenge on the village, he'd postponed the invasion, but things were falling down around him. He'd live to fight another day, live to exact revenge on the village that spited him for his genius. Yes he would save his trump cards for a more certain victory.

"Kukukukuku," Was all Orochimaru uttered before smoke erupted from his feet and muffled cries were issued from the two ANBU standing outside the door a moment prior to them dropping dead, the Sannin already fleeing the scene.

xXx

(With Kakashi just as Naruto returned Gaara to the Sand Siblings; Outskirts of Konoha)

"Pakkun, where is he?" Kakashi said as he stood in the middle of a clearing containing a number of dead ANBU.

"His scent disappears here, I don't know what he did to get away but it worked, Kabuto is gone."

_We should have taken him when we had the chance._

xXx

Karin didn't know what to think when Naruto appeared next to her and the defeated Sasuke and collapsed on the couch. She'd never seen someone fight like that. She assumed that Orochimaru probably had power much greater; she'd just never seen him use it.

His chakra had been so terrifying when he had that strange red chakra cloak, but she knew that he cared about her. She knew that he was still Naruto and that he would do anything for her and the other people he cared about. She pitied anyone on the receiving end of a beating from him in the future.

As scary as it was, he did what he did to protect her and the others. He really was amazing in her eyes.

Sasuke was resting more comfortably now that the majority of his wounds had been healed. He just needed to get some sleep now. Karin was confident in her medical skills; he'd be fine.

Moving over to her boyfriend she began trying to see what was wrong with him using her medical ninjutsu.

"Don't, I just need to rest," He said, surprising her, "Although a hug would be nice," he added with a smile, not bothering opening his eyes.

She couldn't help but marvel at the people she'd befriended, and at the boy she now had looking after her, squeezing onto the couch next to him, with a smile on her face and her head on his shoulder.

xXx

Naruto appeared in his mindscape almost as soon as Karin climbed on top of him and he let himself fall asleep.

"Thanks for the help you grumpy fox. I wouldn't have been able to do what I did without you,"

"**Pfft, do you realize now you can't ever succeed without my power, how weak you are?"**

Naruto didn't even bother biting at the bait "Yeah whatever, just wanted to say that the power was cool and all, it helped me out," just as he was about to leave however a thought crossed his mind, "You must get pretty bloody bored in here,"

The Kyuubi grunted in acknowledgement, wanting to give the kid as little satisfaction at his displeasure as he could.

"I hope you realize that I don't hate you anymore, I hated you for a while when I found out you were the reason I was treated the way I was. But I don't anymore. Not after seeing what happened to that other Jinchuuriki. Sure neither of us wanted to be in this position, but you helped me out without even realizing. I got treated the way I did by the village because you were inside me, but that wasn't your choice, and its because of you I've gotten this strong, and because of that I have the friends I've always wanted."

The Kyuubi just sat in silence for a while, not wanting to say anything to the soppy blonde standing in front of him.

"I do have one question though,"

The beast's ears pricked up and he looked the boy lazily with one eye to indicate he was partially paying attention.

"Why did you attack the village twelve years ago?"

When the fox didn't reply, Naruto just turned and walked away, "Whatever you crabby old fox. Let me know if you want me to change my mindscape into something else, this sewer is depressing."

* * *

**So yeah!**

**Hope you enjoyed, review on what you thought about zeh chapter! :)**

**The next chapter will either be incredibly soon, which while possible is unlikely, as it will mean I got up yesterday and hammered it out in under 4 hrs, or another 1-2 week break from the looks of my schedule :) but you know, these things change.**

Have fun doing what you all do, and make sure to review :) Until next time!


	11. 11: Couples Therapy

**So guys, not as soon as expected, but not as late as expected either. Hope you enjoy :) I think this might actually be my longest chapter and I hope you find it as fun to read as some of my betas. As always read and review, it's always nice to hear what you guys think, and it makes me feel awesome when I see my review count go up, even if it's by 1. Thanks to RixxellStryfe for being a beta for me and suggesting a few small additions here and there. My other betas don't have accounts so I can't really give them a shout out. Also the title isn't completely relevant... just wanted to upload and couldn't think of anything spectacular, once again. ****Anyway enough talking, enjoy!**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. God, the things I'd change if I did.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 11: Couples Therapy**

* * *

Sakura, being the calm and level headed shinobi that she wasn't, was knocking on the front door of the Namikaze house screaming to be let in to see her Sasuke-kun within minutes of Naruto appearing in the stadium and dropping Gaara back with the sand siblings. Naruto had really been enjoying the few minutes of rest with his stern but caring girlfriend.

What was worse was that he now had a pulsing sensation in his arm. She was continuously spamming her chakra into the signal seal, no doubt in an attempt to get him up.

"Go away, nobody's home," Naruto cried from his position on the couch.

"I'M GOING TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU NARUTO, NOW LET ME IN TO SEE SASUKE-KUN! IS HE OKAY?"

"Just let her in, maybe it'll shut her up, I don't think I can take much more of that racket," Sasuke said from his position on the other couch, his eyes closed.

"SASUKE-KUN, ARE YOU OKAY!"

Before anyone could make a reply the door swung inward and Naruto stood in front of Sakura, "OF COURSE HE'S OKAY, OTHERWISE HE WOULD BE AT THE HOSPITAL!"

Sakura's response to this was to promptly smack Naruto over the head hard enough to send him flying down the hallway. He burst into smoke shortly after, the real Naruto still laid out on the couch.

"Really? Sakura he's fine, now -," Naruto was stopped talking when he noticed that Karin had gotten up and was walking over to Sakura. Even Sasuke had opened his eyes a little and turned his head to see what the lull in the conversation was about.

"HOW DARE YOU HIT MY BOYFRIEND!"

"IT WAS JUST A CLONE!"

"YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT!" and then the catfight started. Hair was pulled, and claws where unsheathed. In the end though it just got to the point where they were both rolling around on the floor together yelling at each other. .

"HE SHOULD HAVE LET ME IN WHEN I SAID SO,"

"YOU SHOULDN'T BE SO CLINGY!"

Naruto and Sasuke just sat and watched, Sasuke using his Sharingan to make sure he remembered every last detail.

"Hey, that's my girlfriend you're perving on there teme," Naruto said when he noticed what Sasuke was doing

The Uchiha tried to look disinterested when the two girls stopped, and their heads turned almost robotically toward him, fury in their eyes.

"Heh, I'm injured, doesn't that count for anything. Heh, heh," Sasuke was looking less and less confident as the two girls stomped toward him, "Shit, help me out here dobe,"

"Sorry, teme, no can do." Naruto wasn't about to get in the way of two angry women, especially when one was his girlfriend and the other could obliterate boulders with a single hit.

Naruto hadn't expected Sasuke to take the assault but he hadn't had long to recover, so it probably wasn't a choice thing. He had no way of avoiding either of the hits that came from the two girls who had completely forgotten their earlier dispute.

After Karin landed her hit she waltzed over to Naruto and curled up on him again, prompting Sakura to do the same.

"Awwww look isn't that cute," Naruto said, "Sasuke's finally letting Sakura cuddle him,"

Sakura was already red in the face at the opportunity she had with her crush and blushed even more.

"It doesn't count when I can't move to get her off me," and the colour drained from her face.

"Even I can tell you that was the wrong thing to say teme," Naruto got in before the sound of Sakura hitting him over the head again rang out through the room.

xXx

It was a few hours later and as the few genin and their housemate in the form of Karin were sitting around going over exactly what had happened that day a knock came at the door.

"Naruto Namikaze, please report to the Hokage's office immediately, bring your teammates and your houseguest," an ANBU said to the tired blonde as he stood in the doorframe.

"Are you going back to Ojii-san's office?" Naruto asked the shinobi before he could leave, his message delivered. Anyone else wouldn't have a clue what Naruto was on about, but all the ANBU knew by now the way Naruto addressed the Sandaime Hokage.

A simple nod was all it took for Naruto to throw him a kunai, "Here take this back with you, we'll be there soon,"

"Why'd you just give him a kunai?" Sakura asked.

"Why walk when you can get someone else to do the walking for you?" Naruto said with his signature cheeky grin plastered on his face.

xXx

Twenty minutes later the Hokage was sitting at his desk with the Hiraishin Kunai sitting in front of him. Naruto had told the ANBU he'd be here soon; Hiruzen had assumed that meant the boy would arrive almost as soon as the kunai arrived, what was taking him so long? The Hokage soon had his answer when Naruto and his three companions appeared in front of him with steaming bowls of food.

"Hey Ojii-san, sorry we had to stop at Ichiraku's first, and then I might have gotten carried away with eating the most glorious food on the planet hehe. Luckily Sasuke remembered we had somewhere to be or I'd be on my sixth bowl."

"I should have known," The Hokage said from behind his desk, an amused expression on his face. It was hard for him to ever be stern with Naruto, especially now.

"Hey, we were hungry," Naruto said defensively in case the Hokage pushed the matter.

"It doesn't matter, you aren't really late, without that Jutsu you'd have taken a while to get here; the Hiraishin is incredibly useful."

Karin was both amazed at how Naruto was just casually talking with the Hokage and intimidated now that she was standing in the office of the legendary ninja.

"So what did you want us here for Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked from her position next to Naruto, as he continued to loudly slurp through his ramen.

"I figure it only wise that I informed you of what happened earlier today, I won't keep you from resting for too long," Hiruzen went on, noting Sasuke's exhaustion, "It seems that Orochimaru was impersonating the Kazekage and that the Sand Village had been tricked into the planning the invasion. It will be investigated further, but seeing as how they were manipulated by my student like so many others have been try not to show them too much hostility when they are eventually released."

"What about that snake bastard?" Naruto said through a mouthful of noodles. Not even life changing news could bring that boy to stop eating his precious ramen.

"He managed to flee, along with Kabuto. They inflicted casualties among the ANBU during their escape."

None of the genin looked happy about this. Karin had been hoping that they'd catch him, so she could ask him why he tried to do what he did. She knew the answer already, Naruto had pretty much summed it up the day he saved her but she wanted to hear him say it.

"Great, so that snake douche is out and about, what about Karin? Is she still under house arrest?"

"Orochimaru seems to have fled, and the information she gave us appears to be accurate. For the safety of the village an eye will be kept on you until we can determine whether or not you can be accepted completely and wholeheartedly." The Hokage said looking at the young redhead.

"BUT-," Naruto had stopped eating to make a rebuttal, a look of shock on his face.

"Naruto, I understand that you trust her with your life, and I feel that Karin would also cause us no harm from everything you've told me, but the council deems it necessary. She is no longer under house arrest and from what you've told me of her ninja skills if she wants she can be put into a genin team."

"Thankyou Hokage-sama," Normally Karin was overbearing and boisterous, unless she was alone with Naruto, but that wouldn't get her anywhere here, this was the Hokage, the god of shinobi. This village was giving her another shot at belonging and she wasn't going to screw it up.

Sakura didn't envy the team that got Karin. At least she could fix the injuries she inflicted upon them. Maybe having a stricter Jounin would work that out of her? _**Are you kidding?**_ _**You aren't any different, except maybe you're less fan-girly than you used to be.**_ _Yeah you're right, well good luck to them_.

"Now Naruto, the entire village saw the way you fought out there. They all think you are the Yellow Flash returned, and they are pretty right in that assumption so you might be getting more attention than usual. Both good and bad, people will be in awe of your strength, and people will be afraid of it, especially coupled with the village secret." Naruto and Sakura nodded in response, while Sasuke and Karin looked both as confused as each other, not having ever been filled in on Naruto's not so little passenger. Karin had an idea of what it might be though; she'd been wondering exactly what the cause of that dark chakra was she'd seen earlier in the day.

"That is all I really have to tell you today, oh, and the chunin exam results should be announced soon, so you can look forward to that. You can go now," The Hokage said with a smile on his face, happy that Naruto and his team had pulled through the trials of today. If only the same could be said of the ANBU that had been lost.

"Wait so I really didn't need to come?" Sasuke asked, looking as if he'd been prevented from resting for essentially no reason, which he had.

"Now that I think about it, no," The Hokage said light heartedly, " anyway you are all dismissed, have a good rest, and genin team meetings won't resume for another week so enjoy your rest,"

"Goodbye Hokage-sama," Three of them echoed while the fourth just continued to slurp the last of his noodles.

"Seeya Ojii-san," Naruto finished after finishing the last of his broth while his three companions just looked at him like the fool he was and finally they disappeared.

When they appeared back at Naruto's after they dropped back the bowls to Teuchi at Ichiraku's (Naruto had a seal under the counter seeing as how it was his favourite place in the world, he'd be stupid if he didn't) Sasuke and Karin both turned to Naruto.

"So what's this village secret," Sasuke asked first, "And how do you two know about it and not me?"

"Uhhhh," Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he thought about how he'd break the news to them. He might have been able to decipher his father's notes on advance jutsu but he wasn't the most tactful person, "Yeah, sooo you know how Gaara transformed into that big monster?"

"Yeahhh?" They both chorused, both now knowing where this might be going.

Sakura was just face-palming silently in the background, _Really Naruto? Don't compare yourself to that nut-job, you aren't nearly as crazy, wait psychotic, yeah you're still as crazy._

Naruto wasn't so much worried about Sasuke's reaction but Karin's so he thought he'd rip the proverbial band-aid off as fast as possible.

"Well that was because he had the Shukaku inside of him, and I have the Kyuubi inside of me, but I'm still me and stuff and all the adults in the village know and that's why I always copped abuse from them when I was little," he rattled off as fast as he could.

"So that explains that red chakra, I wondered where that came from," Karin said to herself, her question now answered.

"What red chakra?" Sakura and Sasuke were now the ones in the dark.

"Ummm yeah," Naruto slowed down this time so they'd be able to better comprehend exactly what he was saying, "so you guys haven't seen me use it before, hmmm. Well when I get really angry or furious the Kyuubi gives me it's power and it makes me really strong and fast. I used it on the bridge with Haku when I thought you two had been killed. You were unconscious so you never saw it happen. And I used it to defeat Gaara after he knocked out Sasuke. So I guess Karin was the only one to see me use it then too."

"You use the power of the beast that almost destroyed the village 12 years ago to fight?" Sasuke asked, "And I'm assuming that's why your chakra reserves are ridiculous?"

"That and I'm an Uzumaki, we are just naturally awesome like that," Naruto said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Yeah whatever, well there isn't any chance of it getting out right?" Sasuke was kind of concerned if his teammate was a ticking time bomb ready to explode bijuu everywhere.

"I don't think so, it's been sitting pretty tight up in my stomach for a while, I mean my dad did the sealing, so I trust he did it right. He was a badass."

"Who was your dad anyway Naruto?" Karin had always seen pictures but she'd never gotten a name, and never wanted to bring it up around Naruto in case it was a really sore subject. She thought she knew who the man in the photo was but she figured that was just because he looked like Naruto.

"Oh he was Minato Namikaze, you know, the Yondaime Hokage and Yellow Flash of Konoha."

Karin's jaw dropped. How had she not known? _He even uses the signature jutsu of the man,_ _duh Karin_! _But man now my boyfriend is even more awesome! We are going to have the most awesome children. What!? What is going on in my head? Why am I thinking about having children! But we so definitely will. Oh God, well whatever._

Naruto just watched in amusement as a look of shock passed across her face, followed by realisation, followed by contentment, disgust and then contentment mixed with resignation. The blonde couldn't help but burst out laughing at the situation.

"So this doesn't change anything between any of us? The fact that I have a grumpy, but all powerful fox sitting in my stomach somewhere?"

"You've already surprised me enough since we were put in a team, this is just another surprise. It does explain why you can make so many clones though." Sasuke said resigning himself to the fact that being on a team with Naruto would never get stale.

"Karin?"

Her response was just to jump onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck and hugging him so hard he almost had trouble breathing.

"I guess that's a no dobe?" Sasuke said chuckling from the sidelines.

Sakura sidled closer to Sasuke, grabbing his arm and putting it around her.

Sasuke looked like he was about to say something.

"You do or say anything to ruin this moment and I will crush your insides," Sakura said from beside him without even looking up at the boy.

"Tch all I was going to say was that you did good out there today, and that you'd look hot in an outfit like Anko's now that I think about it,"

This time it was Sakura's turn to go through mixed emotions. Her hand was reading to smack him, but she didn't know what to do. _HE IS SUCH A PERVERT THINKING ABOUT ME IN AN OUTFIT LIKE THAT, then again he did think about me in an outfit like that. _All she ended up doing after her internal fit of indecision had passed was bite her lip uncertainly and let out a huff of frustration.

It was true that Sasuke was starting to see Sakura in a different light. With his sole drive for revenge lessened by his desire to become stronger for his teammates he needed something to fill the gaps, and that was Icha Icha; it was however also bringing with it different character traits.

He was starting to see women in a much different light, especially the girl that he had spent the most time with, even if it was mainly during training. The more he thought about it the more he realised that he wasn't even disappointed with the fact that he was attracted to her. She was strong. Stronger than any other girl he'd met that was their age, she was smart, and she wasn't even bad on the eyes.

That being said he was also attracted to a few other women around the village. None of them fan girls bar Sakura; she was an exception, not being nearly as bad as the others. He never saw how they thought they would ever get him. Being that clingy and devoting all their time and effort into stalking someone wasn't cool.

But he wasn't a fool. Jiraiya had taught him well by proxy. He was going to play this cool, make her want him even more than she possibly could to the point where he could get away with anything he wanted. _A child really shouldn't be reading books like that. _Sasuke thought to himself as he contemplated his own thoughts. _They definitely shouldn't be reading books like that_.

By now everyone was starting to feel the day's events catching up to them. Naruto and Karin retired to what may as well have been their room given that they slept together most nights and now that Karin had declared their relationship status they didn't really have any reason not to. Sasuke went to show Sakura out only to find that Naruto had never unlocked the door once they'd gotten back. _Man he really needs to add me to this seal._

"So I'm going to have to get the dobe to unlock the door to let you out," Sasuke said as he turned away to walk upstairs.

Sakura stopped him, grabbing his arm, "I could always stay here the night, you've got room in your bed don't you?"

Frankly Sasuke didn't have a problem, but he didn't need Sakura to think he didn't have a problem.

"You tell anyone about this and it will never happen again got it? And don't think this will be a regular thing okay?" Sakura nodded fervently, a smile splayed across her face.

_Oh my god oh my god oh my god … I'm going to be sleeping in the same bed as Sasuke-kun. _She almost fainted at the thought of it. Not really noticing anything else he'd said.

And as the four lay asleep, each pair in their own beds Sakura couldn't remember a time she'd been happier.

xXx

The next morning after Sakura had rushed home, fearful of the wrath of her parents if she were to stay any longer Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"You do realise that there were other rooms she could have stayed in?"

"Yeah, but…" Shit Sasuke hadn't thought about what Naruto would say, hell he didn't expect the blonde to be up earlier than him. Guess he really did have super healing powers, that recovery time was bullshit.

"Oh! You like her you sly dog!"

"Hn, So?" Sasuke was playing it down, Naruto could just tell.

"So you don't mind if I tell her then?"

"Don't you dare dobe," Sasuke had death in his eyes. He was going to play this out the way he wanted to. He wasn't going to let the dobe ruin anything.

"Bahahahaha you sure? I mean a slight slip of the tongue would be so eas-,"

"Naruto-kun, just let him handle it. He can take as long as he wants. Just he'll miss out on the good stuff while he waits."

"What good stuff?"

"I swear you are a genius one day and as dumb as a doorknob the next, this good stuff," Karin said to him fiercely as she stormed up to him, grabbed him around the collar and pulled him into a hearty kiss.

"Yuck, get a room!"

"Wow," Naruto said as Karin released him, "You weren't kidding when you said the good stuff."

"You're right Naruto, a slip of the tongue really was easy," Karin said confidently causing the Uchiha to shift uncomfortably and the blonde to blush.

Now for Karin that was her first real kiss. But she sure as hell wasn't going to be timid about it. Naruto already knew what the deal was and she knew what she was doing for the most part. She'd spent a month cooped up in the house so Sasuke wasn't the only one reading Icha Icha.

"And what do you mean yuck! You read Icha Icha, there's stuff way worse in there" Karin said as she turned to Sasuke from her position in Naruto's arms.

"Yeah but I don't need to see my best friend making out with you,"

"Wait, you read Icha Icha," Naruto said, looking down at his girlfriend, "Should I be scared or excited?"

"Hmmm," Karin said before her she turned and stared directly at him, "both," she had a foreboding smile that just made Naruto look at Sasuke questioningly.

"Scared dobe, be scared." Sasuke said, causing the blonde to gulp.

xXx

For the most part, all being orphans and off active duty Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin just hung around the house recovering. Recovering for Naruto merely meant more training. Sasuke however, although healed mostly, was still not in any condition to move around. The fact that he got instant treatment from Karin helped his situation after the fight but he needed to rest. Karin just hung around, looking forward to the fact that she was no longer confined to the house.

The next day Team 7 and Karin were waiting outside a local barbeque restaurant for the rest of the rookie genin to show up for lunch. They hadn't been standing around long before they heard the crunching of chips in the distance.

"Hey Chouji, Shikamaru, Ino!" Naruto called out to them all as they approached the team. When they got closer Naruto started his introduction, "This is Karin, she lives with me now. Karin, this is Chouji Akamichi, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka. Do you guys know where Team 8 is? Wait no, I can hear Kiba now, man that guy makes a lot of noise,"

"And the pot calls the kettle black," Sasuke muttered under his breath just loud enough for everyone to hear.

When Team 8 had finally rounded the corner Naruto did the introductions once again. Only this time there was a hitch. Naruto, being clueless to all things romantic, had never realised that Hinata was so completely into him. So when Naruto introduced Karin Hinata immediately recognised the name from the chunin exams a few days ago. He wasn't sure why the Hyuuga was giving his red headed partner death glares.

_This can't be the woman that stole Naruto from me_. Hinata wasn't one to normally become enraged, but having her crush stolen like that, it drove her nuts. _I should have acted sooner! Now I have to get him back, but how?_ She had no idea, but in the meantime she mustered up the courage to give hateful looks at her new rival.

Karin noticed. She'd always noticed. Unlike Naruto she wasn't completely oblivious, and she knew that Hinata was after her man. _She has no idea. There is no way she is taking my Naruto-kun from me_.

Before the glaring competition that went unnoticed by only Naruto could turn into a downright catfight a rather attractive civilian girl with long black hair and green eyes ran up to the group squealing, "Oh kami it really is you! Naruto-kun you were so amazing in the finals! I've got to go and tell everyone!" she bounced up and down excitedly. This got her glares from both Karin and Hinata and the two looked like they were about to say something when the girl bolted in the other direction.

Naruto, confused as ever, walked inside and called for everyone to follow. He was still getting used to having people look at him in awe, as a number of patrons did when they walked through the threshold.

After his performance at the Chunin Exam Finals he may as well have been a celebrity, he figured that explained why that girl out there was excited but he still had no idea what she meant by 'tell everyone'. Most people had come around to the fact that he was badass and so he got treated a hell of a lot better than before. He couldn't say he didn't like some of the attention.

Over lunch they discussed a number of things, mostly though, the teams wanted to know about the Gaara fight.

"So what happened?" Kiba asked enthusiastically, wanted to hear the full details, "We heard a noise come from the direction of your place, but we didn't know what it was."

"Oh that? Hmmm yeah, just an attack I did, I haven't thought of a name for it yet," this surprised most of the genin. The distance between the arena and his compound was substantial, how could one of his attacks have created so much noise, "Hey Sasuke, what do you think about Ninja Art: Falling Star?"

"You'd really call such a kickass attack something that lame?"

"Well what do you have in mind?" Naruto was annoyed that his idea got shot down straight away.

"I don't know but I bet I'll think of something better than that," Sasuke replied cooly.

"WHAT DID IT EVEN DO?" Kiba had waited a whole ten seconds longer than he'd wanted; he wanted to know what the move was.

Naruto explained exactly what he did with the help of Karin and then they then went on to explain exactly what he did to finish off Gaara and end the fight with Shukaku. The genin present were shocked at the power of the twelve-year-old blonde that was sitting in front of them. They'd seen Sasuke fight too, hell even Sakura was a threat, they all noted once again that Team 7 was not a team you wanted to come across if you were enemy shinobi.

"That is very impressive," Shino said stoically; the first words of the day for the silent ninja. Shino was normally never impressed or surprised, and if he was he generally never acknowledged it.

"Yeah HOLY CRAP that sounds awesome!" Kiba said, Akamaru barking in agreement.

_Wow, we are really going to have to start training harder if we want to keep up with these guys _Ino thought to herself while she stared at Sasuke. _I'm going to have to train harder if I want to get Sasuke. _The slight differences in behaviour between Sakura and Sasuke hadn't gone unnoticed.

Hinata and Karin were still glaring at each other when Sakura spoke up, "So when do you guys think the Chunin Exam results will be released?"

That question seemed to momentarily snap everyone out of the awe they were expressing for Sasuke and in particular Naruto.

"Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure, but my father said that it should be soon," Shikimaru piped up, having not said much either for most of the lunch, "I just hope I don't get promoted."

"What? Why wouldn't you want to get promoted Shikamaru?" Naruto was curious as to why Shikamaru would want to stay a genin.

"Because it's troublesome and unlike you I don't want to be Hokage one day."

"Well that's just stupid,"

"No it's not, what's stupid is that we know nothing about Karin," Shikamaru said, curious to find out more about the girl.

Naruto went to say something but was stopped by the new member of the group, "It's okay Naruto-kun," cue increasingly heated glare from Hinata, "I used to be a shinobi of the sound, but am now allied with the leaf," she started to explain.

"Naruto found and saved me in the forest of death but when we ended up in the confrontation with Orochimaru," Naruto muttered 'snake bastard' and Sasuke had a sour look on his face at the mention of the creepy Sannin, "My former master attempted to kill me and Naruto once again saved my life," Karin turned to Naruto holding his arm as they sat there, "I owe my life to Naruto-kun twice, and he's even let me live with him seeing as I have no where else to go. I'm also one of the last remaining Uzumaki alive, so I guess it's only fitting that we stay together. Maybe one day we will rebuild our clan together. I am his girlfriend after all, and he is my Naruto-kun," with the last statement she turned and stared directly at Hinata, a victorious expression on her face.

The reactions from the group were mixed. Naruto stared blankly; trying to comprehend exactly what she'd just said, rebuild their clan! He didn't know what to think, but he knew that he liked having her tongue in his mouth. Sasuke simply smirked at the fortune or misfortune depending on how you looked at it, of his best friend. Sakura was shocked, but then started daydreaming about what might happen with her and Sasuke, that one cuddle had really gone to her head.

The rest of the group were shocked that not only was this girl a former enemy, she was also an Uzumaki, and she was practically calling herself out to be the future wife of Naruto Uzumaki.

Hinata looked like she was going to faint before her gaze hardened and she stood up, pointing at Karin, "I'm not going to let you take my man you HUSSY! You think you can just come in here hang around for a month and take my man?"

Now it was everyone else's turn to be shocked. Hinata didn't act like this ever. She was shy and timid and completely not the girl that was standing at the table with her hand pointed at the red headed girl as if to challenge her.

Naruto was shocked, "You like me Hinata?"

Everyone face-faulted, "Seriously Naruto, you might be a powerful ninja but for crying out loud you are oblivious sometimes," Ino called out to the blonde.

Hinata looked toward her crush and nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

_WHY DIDN'T I EVER SAY ANYTHING? GAH I'M SUCH AN IDIOT! A TIMID AFRAID IDIOT!_

"Because I didn't know what you would say."

"I'm sorry Hinata, I like you," Karin tensed, "But not like that,"

The girl got tears in her eyes as she stood there before turning around and walking out, "Don't follow me, any of you," She said, wiping the tears from her face on her solemn walk outside.

The next one to talk was Ino, she wouldn't normally have gone out of her way with this, but with what had just happened with Hinata she wasn't going to let things slide, "So Sasuke do you want to get dinner sometime?"

"Really? You're asking Sasuke out now of all times?" Kiba asked, echoing the thoughts of the rest of the group.

"Hey, I'm not going to be left in the dust while Sakura here gets all cosy sitting next to my Sasuke-kun," she said fiercely as she looked down the table at the Inuzuka.

"She's done more than sit next to him," Naruto said under his breath while Karin sat next to him with a smirk on her face. He made sure to say it loud enough for Ino to hear of course. Sasuke wasn't escaping this situation.

Ino's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

"Well I saw Sakura leaving Sasuke's room the morning after the Chunin Exam Finals. Not sure what to make of it," He said with a cheeky grin. The blood rushed from Ino's face as she turned to the pair sitting across the table from her.

Sasuke had no idea on what to do. Thanks to the dobe he'd just been thrown into a very volatile situation. Sakura was happy that Ino-pig knew. It gave her something to boast seeing as how Naruto was the one that revealed it. Ino was furious! This was no doubt all because of Forehead being on the same team as Sasuke.

If his friend was going to skirt around the issue with Sakura he was going to make his friend's life hell. It was funny, so why not?

Ino wasn't sure she wanted to know exactly what they'd done that night, even if Sakura and Sasuke knew that it was nothing, she didn't. The blonde stood up and stormed off angrily at her rival getting the better of her. Sasuke was just glad that she hadn't resorted to physical violence; he was still sore.

"Man," Kiba said as she left, "You guys really know how to cause a scene," the boy couldn't help but laugh when he said it though. Chouji and Shikamaru sure as hell weren't going after their teammate. Chouji was too busy enjoying the barbeque, hence why he'd hardly said a word and everyone knew what Shikamaru thought of women; troublesome.

For the rest of the lunch the remaining genin didn't talk about much, occasionally discussing who they thought would get promotions after the series of matches. As Naruto and team 7 were leaving they ran into someone who the blonde hadn't seen for a while, no thanks to all his training.

"Hey Naruto," Tenten said as she walked down the street. She seemed to be in a bright enough mood but a worried look kept playing across her face.

"Hey Tenten, long time no see. Ummm Tenten, this is Karin she's living with me now,"

"And I'm his girlfriend," Karin added when it didn't seem like he was going to say anything, she'd be damned if every girl their age didn't know he was taken by the end of the day.

"Oh, okay, well it's nice to meet you."

"Where were you headed Tenten, we were just about to head back to mine to play some poker, but I haven't seen you around for a while,"

"Oh, well I was heading over to the hospital to visit Lee, he keeps getting in trouble with the medical ninja, he's always trying to keep training but with his injuries it's likely that he'll never able to fight properly again,"

Naruto knew what it felt like to be helpless. He'd been helpless and practically useless for so long before everything was revealed to him and he promised himself he'd become stronger. He could only imagine what Rock Lee was feeling, stuck in the hospital, most likely never to become the shinobi he wanted to be.

Naruto had visited the boy with Tenten during his one-month training stint to see if he could make him feel even a little better. This was a week after the preliminaries before his training completely took over and he never got the chance to see anyone but Karin and Sakura.

He had to do something.

"Karin, maybe you could try and heal Lee?" Naruto was hopeful that maybe Karin had some way of fixing the boy's injuries that the Konoha medic ninja had no knowledge of.

"I don't think I could Naruto. If the best medical ninja of your village couldn't help him, I'm not sure what I could do,"

"Sakura, Sasuke, you guys have any ideas?" they both shook their heads.

"I might have something I don't know, I don't think it would heal him though." Karin added, thinking about her ability to heal during combat.

"No, there is only one person I know of that could possibly help him," Tenten said to the concerned shinobi, "Tsunade of the Sannin."

"Hmmm yeah I remember Jiraiya saying one time that she's supposed to be an insane medic nin. I mean I think that's what he said, most of the conversation he was rambling about her breasts," Sasuke said absentmindedly forgetting who exactly he was in the company of.

Sakura's and Tenten's expressions darkened. Sakura was the first to hit him over the head, forcing Tenten to back down after the pink haired girl's punishment knocked Sasuke through a fence.

"What the hell was that for? It was Jiraiya that said that!"

"WHY WAS NARUTO'S PERVERT GOD FATHER TALKING TO YOU ABOUT BREASTS IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Sakura was going to try her best to prevent Sasuke from turning out like that man.

A shiver ran down her spine as she imagined her wonderful Sasuke-kun sitting beside a fence giggling as he perved on the women on the other side.

Everyone that wasn't part of the conversation was giving the group of genin weird looks. Who the hell yelled about breasts in public? The only person that could get away with it in the slightest was Jiraiya; maybe Anko too.

It didn't matter once they realised who it was though; Team 7, the genin from the exam that completely wiped the floor with the competition.

Mutterings started going around and people began talking. These could be the strongest group of genin to come out of the Hidden Leaf in history. And the Yellow Flash had returned!

Since the day Naruto inadvertently revealed his heritage on an almost nation-wide scale people had been wondering how the hell they had never noticed.

Sasuke just remained silent and broody as Sakura looked at him questioningly, he wasn't going to tell her, he'd be damned if she found out why he and Jiraiya hung out. And she wouldn't have, until Naruto made a guess.

"Oh! You guys were probably discussing Icha Icha hey?" Naruto asked innocently, oblivious to the sentence he'd just bestowed on the Uchiha.

Sakura wasn't going to hit her 'boyfriend' again, he'd already received enough punishment from her these past few days, and this time Tenten couldn't be bothered. They weren't talking about her idol so she couldn't really care less. Karin and Naruto could only laugh at the unfortunate Uchiha because he still garnered glares from the two girls.

It wasn't long however until a squealing noise could be heard in the distance. Naruto and Sasuke looked up to see a group of around five civilian girls hurtling towards them. Fangirls.

"Man I really do not need to deal with this today," Sasuke said as Sakura cracked her knuckles, ready to destroy these pests. At least that was the plan until she heard what they were saying. She could only laugh when she realised who the group was actually after and who was leading the pack. The black-haired girl from earlier was charging forward ahead of the group.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

"Since when do you have fan-girls Naruto?" Tenten was actually curious, the blonde had never really been the popular one.

Naruto just looked at her with a look that said 'I really don't want to be in this situation' while it was now Karin's turn to get ready for a fight, but Naruto was already planning on leaving, turning to Tenten one last time.

"Okay so this Tsunade lady? She should be able to help Lee yeah?" Tenten nodded with a smile amused at what Naruto had managed to get himself into this time, answering Naruto's question, "I need to go find Ero-sennin. Catchya later!"

Man fangirls were crazy. They were almost upon them, bearing down on the little group when a voice rang out, "He already has a girlfriend suckers, ME!" Karin felt that everyone should know. And now she'd guaranteed that fact, these gossiping excuses for human beings would carry the information far and wide.

If any of them had a problem with it she'd show them exactly why she could get away with being the girlfriend of the strongest genin around.

The group disappeared, leaving Tenten to almost be crushed the by the wave of hormonal girls before they realised the object of their affection was nowhere to be seen.

Tenten turned to the girl that appeared in charge, "Who are you girls anyway?" she couldn't help but laugh.

The girl's green eyes turned into stars and she shouted, "We're the NARUTO FAN SQUAD!" as the girls dispersed, storming away in search of their crush.

xXx

Jiraiya was once again perving on a group of unsuspecting women enjoying a spa when four genin appeared out of no where next to him.

"OI YOU PERVERT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Sakura shouted as loud as she could, she'd been around Jiraiya to know what to expect and to know how to ruin his days; she wasn't afraid of him either. The women in the pool all screamed and scattered, rushing to put clothes on as soon as possible.

"Alright you little brat I get the point, now what do you want?"

The other three face-palmed. You don't ruin the day of the person who you want to ask help from. That was like social interaction 101. Obviously Sakura missed that life lesson.

"Sorry ero-sennin, you know what Sakura's like," Naruto said as she huffed angrily at Jiraiya, "We were wondering if you knew where to find Tsunade. We think she might have the medical skills needed to help a friend of ours."

"You mean the Rock Lee kid?" Jiraiya had heard all about that. Man what a crushing defeat, literally. They nodded in acknowledgement, "Sorry kids, but even I don't know where Tsunade is right now, and I don't think she'd be one to come running back to Konoha."

"What if I paid her?"

"You'd really do that for the spandex kid?"

Naruto nodded, "It's not like I have a shortage of cash, and I'm going to be earning more and more as I move up through the ranks,"

"Well someone's a little cocky,"

Everyone just stared at the old man as if he was stupid, "Okay you have a right to be. Look kid I wouldn't mind finding Tsunade and seeing the girls once again." he giggled perversely catching the attention of Sakura, "But I don't know how to find her, and don't you guys go on active duty in a few days?"

"Oh Tsunade travels with other girls?" Naruto asked curiously, Sasuke, Sakura and Karin had an idea of what the old lecherous man had meant though.

"Oh… Yeah yeah of course, Shizune should be with her, and Tonton," Jiraiya said, slightly appeasing Sakura, and glad Naruto had given him the chance to climb his way out of that hole.

"Also," Naruto added, "you're forgetting that I have one of the best Jutsu ever!"

Naruto was right, with the Hiraishin it might be a simpler task of finding his old teammate, "Alright kid, let's get back to yours and work out where we're going from here on out,"

They all vanished in a flash as two shinobi rounded the corner of the hot spring, both of them wearing black cloaks covered in red clouds.

"I could have sworn Samehada felt three massive chakra signals coming from over this way," Kisame said to the black haired ninja beside him.

xXx

"Okay kid, well although I might not be able to find her, from what I know she should still be in the Land of Fire, have you got a map?"

Naruto walked over to a box of scrolls and pulled out a map of the Land of Fire. When he unfurled it on the table the rest of them noted a number of markers on the map that were not usually found on any maps they'd seen.

"Naruto what are those?" Sasuke asked as he looked at the points covering the map. Most of them were spread evenly across the countryside with at least one near every major town or village.

"I'm not entirely sure," Naruto said, "I think they might have been locations my dad left his kunai, but I've tried to Hiraishin to them and I can't feel any markers any further out than the village, unless someone I've put one on leaves. The markers must have either been destroyed, or eroded by the weather. I can't jump to any of them. Maybe these have some other meaning. But it would make sense for my dad to have some way to quickly get around the country,"

"Yeah kid. You're dad's shown me this map before, that's exactly what they were. It's unfortunate that we can't use any of them to begin our search." Jiraiya said as he looked over the map sitting in front of them.

"Okay so Tsunade would most likely be in a gambling town, she's known as the legendary sucker, but don't ever call her that if you value your life." Jiraiya warned the genin children, "her temper is worse than Sakura's," he added idly, not caring for the girls response.

"Anyway, I think we should start our search at these places, maybe we'll get lucky," Jiraiya said, pointing out a number of different villages and towns all over the country, "We're going to have to cover a lot of ground so we'll have to leave soon,"

"Already on it," Naruto said as he picked up the map and create ten copies of himself that all went into the armoury and picked up real Hiraishin Kunai.

"May as well start creating a network of kunai again while I'm at it." He said to the confused look on Sakura's face. By now Sasuke knew that Naruto knew what he was doing, even if he was a bit slow on the uptake with some things, *cough* Hinata *cough*, so he didn't really need to question the blonde. Jiraiya and Karin had already worked it out. His clones all disappeared, flashing to the seals that Naruto had closest to the edge of the village and began making their way into the Land of Fire.

"Anyway with my clones creating a network we can investigate the towns a hell of a lot faster," Naruto said grinning, "In the meantime we can rest around here,"

As much as Jiraiya would have preferred to be doing research, the stupid pink haired miniature Tsunade had ruined any chance of that happening. So with that he went to get his sake from his stash and sat down ready to play a game of poker with the genin.

He'd been drinking a bit, but it wasn't until he noticed Sasuke a little wobbly that he thought he'd had enough. Until he realised that it wasn't his vision that was wobbling. It was the Uchiha. He then noticed what the blonde and the black haired boy were drinking. The bottle that was sitting at Naruto's feet surprised Jiraiya.

"Naruto, how did you manage to get that?"

"Oh, I was training with some toads a few weeks back, one of them left a bottle of the stuff after he tried to get me drunk. Apparently he didn't have enough of the stuff, but apparently Sasuke can only have a little bit before he starts acting weird. This is the first time he's tried it. Apparently he's a lightweight."

By now Karin and Sakura were curious, Sakura had been wondering why Sasuke was starting to act weird, "You gave my Sasuke-kun alcohol!"

"Kid I've been watching him drink, he's not a lightweight bahahaha," Jiraiya laughed heartily, the sake in his cup sloshing as he moved his hand and pointed at the bottle next to Naruto, "That is Sake from Mount Myobuko and is probably the most potent alcohol on the planet. It's also freaking addictive, but then most alcohol is," he hiccoughed slightly.

Sakura's expression darkened, "If you've gone and made my Sasuke-kun an alcoholic Naruto I swear to kami!"

"Calm down Sakura, he'll be fine," Karin said as she walked over to sit next to Naruto and grabbed the drink out of his hand, "I'm sure its not even a big deal," she said as she sculled the drink and winced at the burning sensation In her throat.

It didn't take long for the drink to take affect.

Within a few minutes she'd straddled Naruto and was kissing him up and down his neck and on his face, not a care in the world to whomever else was in the room.

Naruto didn't know what to do! He looked to Jiraiya for help but the man just smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up.

So Naruto did what he was so accustomed to doing when it came to all things Karin. He just went along for the ride. Until she started trying to lift her top off and said, "Naruto-kun, pour me another would you?" She said it in a sing-song voice but an underlying tone inferred that it wasn't a request.

He poured her another and she sculled it, only this time after the thirty seconds in which she spent trying to pull her top off while pouting as Naruto tried to prevent her, she collapsed, falling unconscious on top of him.

"You look like you've got your hands full with that one brat!" The old Sannin roared with laughter and delight at the situations his student was getting into. I mean who gives 12 year olds sake from Mt. Myoboku? And what kind of twelve year old drinks it? He figured being orphans, excluding Sakura, that as long as they didn't kill themselves they could get away with whatever they wanted.

Naruto set his girlfriend down next to him and went to pour himself another drink.

"Hey! Where's my sake?"

Sakura just looked at him blankly, sitting back against the couch cuddling a rather disoriented Sasuke. As much as she didn't like the fact that he was drinking she had no problem with taking advantage of it.

Naruto turned on Jiraiya, "Where is my Sake ero-sennin?"

_Damn, I'd hoped with that little stunt his girlfriend had pulled he'd be too distracted to notice, this stuff is gold too_, _no way I'm not keeping the rest_.

"I don't know what you're talking about brat," Jiraiya tried to play it off as cool as possible, even if he was slurring his words slightly.

"Are you serious? You're the only one that could have possible taken it ero-sennin, and they call me an idiot!"

Naruto was on the man throttling him before the inebriated sage could even respond. Oh the perks of the Hiraishin no Jutsu, the ability to strangle your perverted sake stealing sage teachers at will.

It wasn't long before Jiraiya simply revealed the bottle of sake and Naruto sat back on the couch, seemingly more protective of his beverage than ever before.

"God damn it brat, do you know how hard that stuff is to get? And it's not like you can even feel the effects of it with that damned fox in your belly,"

"Doesn't mean I want an ero-sennin drinking all my booze!" Naruto replied loudly.

They were both interrupted by a splattering sound as Sasuke emptied his stomach onto the carpet. Sakura glared at them before turning back to rubbing Sasuke's back with a worried look on her face. For good measure she made sure to continue throwing heated glares at the two ninja as Naruto made a clone to go and get something to clean the mess up and they walked outside.

"Geez Sasuke what'd you have to go and do that for, it's gonna stink forever now,"

"You're the one that gave him the sake in the first place baka!"

"Yeah well I didn't realise he was such a lightwei-," he was cut off when he noticed the presence of two men standing on the path that lead from the house to the front gate of the compound.

"Well well well, what has Sasuke gotten up to now," The shinobi with black hair said as the two ninja approached. He even look amused at the situation of the young Uchiha as the boy stopped retching into the garden for a moment.

Naruto could just make out what they were wearing in the moonlight. Black cloaks covered in red clouds. He could feel the strength radiating off them. These were no pushovers.

Jiraiya was immediately on guard, he knew exactly who these people were, and he was ready to fight them.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Naruto didn't need two powerful ninja picking a fight with him here and now.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha," the ninja said, causing Sakura to gasp. Naruto's resolve hardened, this was the man who massacred his own clan, "and not much Naruto, just that we'd like you to come with us," Itachi said calmly.

"And if I'm not going anywhere?"

"Then we'll just have to carry you out of this pathetic village," The large blue fish-like man said as he drew the huge bandaged sword on his back.

"I'd like to see you try," Naruto said, preparing to fight the two S-rank ninja in front of him, "Sakura, get Sasuke inside, Jiraiya and I will handle this."

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**If you've gotten 11 chapters through my story I commend you! Seriously I didn't really expect to have so many people reading it and liking it. It's a good feeling. If you liked it, or have anything to say please review, it means a lot :) Until next time have fun doing what you all do. Can't guarantee on a timeframe for the next chapter, hopefully it's soon though :) Ciao guys/gals**


	12. 12: A New Addition

**Hey guys :) it's not massive like the last one :) But here it is, hope you enjoy it :) Please R/R it's great to hear what you guys think.**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 12: A New Addition**

* * *

Naruto wasn't entirely ready to fight. He'd never thought he'd be under attack in the middle of the village; but he wasn't stupid.

Quickly reaching into his pocket he pulled out a scroll and summoned a number of Hiraishin Kunai along with a few strips of paper, readying himself for the conflict. He and Jiraiya moved forward a little, stepping out from under the protection of the porch that skirted the building.

"So you really do use Hiraishin kunai. I'd thought at first that the babble that has been spreading across this country was just a silly rumour. Maybe it still is, maybe you can't truly use those kunai the way they were designed to be," Itachi said as he assessed the situation.

Jiraiya seemed slightly drunk, but he was still a major threat and if Naruto could truly use Hiraishin no Jutsu then he would be much harder to obtain than originally thought. What happened to being dead last?

"Don't you worry about whether or not I can use these," Naruto said to the Uchiha, making damn sure not to look him in his eyes. He had one of the only remaining Uchiha on his team so he was used to sparring and training without making eye contact; he sure as hell wasn't going to make a mistake like that now.

"Kid, I might have to fill you in on some things if we survive this," Jiraiya said, his stance looked fine, but Naruto just had to hope that his reflexes were as fresh as normal.

"Yeah well fill me in then," Naruto said without taking his eyes away from the strange blue ninja, "Anyway, what are you supposed to be? A fish? And who even wraps a sword in bandages, kinda defeats the purpose doesn't it?"

"Hah, you know what you brat, I think you talk to much. Time to shut you up," Kisame had had enough of the standing around and talking and not one for subtleties attacked bluntly, swinging his sword horizontally.

He was fast, incredibly fast, and Naruto barely had time to react, disappearing just before the sword made contact before reappearing after the blade had passed the spot where he'd been standing. He'd used one of the many markers he had lying around to bypass the attack.

Jiraiya, not the target of the attack, simply backed out of the range of the strike.

"We are supposed to take him alive Kisame," Itachi almost facepalmed at the potential damage of the swing.

"Slippery little bugger aren't you? Even Samehada hadn't been expecting that. Maybe you'll be a challenge after all?"

Itachi was losing patience with his partner. As strong as he was Kisame just didn't seem to get what they were supposed to do. That or he forgot what his objective was as soon as he got excited.

But Itachi didn't have much longer to think about any of that when an assault from Jiraiya of the Sannin completely drew his focus.

Jiraiya wasn't dumb, you don't get to become on of the most powerful ninja alive by being stupid and you didn't have to look in someone's eyes to read their movements. If there was one weakness of the sharingan genjutsu, it was that someone had to look directly into your eyes. While a slight handicap, any battle-hardened shinobi could avoid doing so.

Itachi hadn't been expecting a fight with a Sannin, and while it wasn't difficult for the S-rank ninja to keep up, especially through the use of his sharingan, it certainly put a kink in their plan.

If they could capture Naruto they would. If they couldn't then they would get a measure of his strength, but just from his ability to dodge Kisame's strike in an instant at the age of twelve, Itachi knew that if they failed now the Akatsuki would have a hard time catching in the future.

Over with Kisame and Naruto the missing-nin was getting frustrated. He couldn't swat the fly that was buzzing around him. Naruto had never really needed to use the full extent of his ability with the Hiraishin no Jutsu to evade attacks until now and it was driving the Kirigakure missing-nin crazy.

The shark like ninja was coming at him fiercely, blazing through strikes with that weird bandaged sword that seemed to be able to move and bend toward its target. Naruto had at any particular time four kunai hanging in the air around the S-rank missing nin and was spending no more than fractions of a second at each one.

Due to the nature of the bandaged sword and the strength and speed of the much older ninja Naruto couldn't get close enough for an attack; he was stuck on the defensive for now, but it was only a matter of time before one of the kunai he was keeping in the air would present him with an opening.

Patience paid off for the smaller ninja. While Itachi duked it out pretty evenly with the older Sannin, Kisame was getting more and more frustrated that his strikes couldn't connect with a twelve year old genin.

He slipped up, swinging too heavily across his body at the blonde. Naruto hoped that the over aggressive strike would give him the time he needed.

Flashing to a kunai that had fallen underneath the swing and was situated in front of the raging ninja Naruto appeared crouched, slapping a seal to the inside of the missing nin's calf, right before he was smacked in the shoulder with a massive hit.

Even though Kisame himself couldn't make a counter-attack, Samehada had. The sword had curved around and down the ninja's body and slammed directly into Naruto, sending him rolling across the battlefield. The short time it took Naruto to recover Kisame used to push the slight advantage he'd gained, rushing after him and preparing a massive downward strike.

Naruto, righting himself from his tumble could only grin as he looked up at the sword swinging down at him from the large ninja above. Kisame must have figured that he'd left the four kunai back over where Naruto had taken a hit and that even if the blonde could avoid this there was no way for him to counter-attack.

The missing-nin of Kirigakure was dead wrong.

Naruto disappeared just as Samehada was about to connect with his head.

He reappeared crouched, in between the legs of Kisame and lashed out, reinforcing the punch with as much chakra as he could keep under his control before reappearing back with his other kunai, picking them up quickly.

Every single male in the village of Konoha, asleep or not, winced as the missing-nin was brought to his knees. Even Jiraiya and Itachi turned to see what impact had made the noise they'd heard before realizing, both of them going pale.

Kisame was reeling. He was wondering who the hell did that, punched a man in his balls. It was downright uncalled for. The fact that they were trying to kidnap the boy completely forgotten as he tried to recover from the attack before Naruto could do something else.

He looked down, realizing exactly what it was that had allowed the boy to attack him in such a cruel manner. A seal was attached to one of the white boots he was wearing; guess it was time to go barefoot. Naruto figured out what Kisame was trying to do as the missing-nin went to remove his shoes as quickly as possible.

"Not today,"

He disappeared.

Kisame didn't know what hit him. Naruto knew that he wouldn't get another opening like this and put everything he had into his attack.

It started with sending the missing-nin flying across the battlefield with a rasengan to the side of the head.

Instantaneously appearing in Kisame's flight path were two Naruto clones, a tightly packed rasengan formed between them.

Before the shark-nin could fully bring his sword around to stop the attack he copped the brunt of the chakra explosion, sending him rocketing upwards, Samehada flying from his hands and bouncing across the ground.

Naruto formed a clone that appeared above the ninja who, without his sword, looked to be going through hand seals. But it was hard to go through hand seals successfully when your opponent could go appear next to you instantaneously. Just one of the many advantages of the rasengan; Naruto could produce them almost as fast as he could Hiraishin by now.

The clone slammed the giant rasengan into the face of airborne ninja, directing him toward the ground with the impact. Not even a second passed before Naruto was above the ninja as he fell, tanto drawn and wind chakra coursing through it.

Just as the attack looked to land, the area around Kisame exploded with smoke and Naruto and Kisame disappeared; only a log remaining where two ninja had once been.

But Naruto's attack still landed, if only slightly amiss. Kisame, in desperation, had tried the one thing he could to get out of the situation he was in. Kamawiri no Jutsu. The only problem with that plan though was that with the seal still on him he couldn't completely escape his fate.

The time it took for Naruto to comprehend what had happened, mentally relocate the marker and Hiraishin to it, which in fact was only a fraction of a second, was enough time for Kisame to move, preventing the strike from Naruto from actually killing him.

The wind chakra enhanced blade still easily punched straight through his shoulder, cutting through a number of tendons, and bone.

Kisame was actually ashamed to think that a boy the age of twelve, even if he was a Jinchuuriki, was besting him. Itachi had told him to keep from using his flashy water style moves; they couldn't draw too much attention to themselves if they wanted to escape with the boy. But that was when they thought this would be easy.

Naruto and the missing-nin were now on the edge of the clearing that circled the house and joined onto the training grounds and forested sections of the compound.

Although the blonde had scored a solid hit, sending his tanto straight through the facedown Kisame, there was no way that he could overpower the massive nin.

Kisame threw the boy off his back as he got up enraged, ripping his shoes off during the lull in the combat and going through hand seals.

"Kisame no! Retreat! If he gets a seal on your skin you won't be able to do anything," Itachi called out, having put Jiraiya under a genjutsu after touching the Sannin during a block.

Jiraiya had come into contact with the Uchiha, and while Itachi couldn't use sharingan genjutsu that didn't mean he couldn't use regular genjutsu. While it didn't take long for Jiraiya to snap out of it, he did so almost immediately, it gave Itachi the break in combat he needed to communicate with his partner.

That snapped Kisame back to reality. This might have been a child. But he was no ordinary child. His ability to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu completely changed the dynamic of the fight and Kisame, enraged, had been ignoring this.

He was currently seal free, and they needed to cut their losses. They couldn't afford a setback so capturing the nine tails would just have to wait.

Even if they could capture Naruto the only way they could prevent him from escaping would be to knock him out and keep him unconscious until the sealing. There wasn't any way to do that right now. Not with Jiraiya there, and not in the middle of the village.

Before the Sannin or the blonde could make a move at either of them the two S-rank ninja retreated, jumping away and putting as much distance as they could behind them.

"I understand that he was a threat," Kisame said as he retreated, "But I have to go back for Samehada!"

"No," Itachi said as they continued their retreat, "You have no experience in fuuinjutsu, or not enough that would allow you to dispel that seal. If he got it on any part of you, you would never be able to escape the village. He would always know where you were, and would always be able to take you wherever he wanted.

He could do it so fast that you would have almost no time to react, or were you not paying attention to anything while you fought him?" Itachi said, annoyed that he seemed to have gotten more information out of that fight than Kisame. The Uchiha had been keenly watching the conflict even as Jiraiya had been trying to lay into him.

He guessed that while the Sannin's reflexes and speed weren't affected by his drinking, his subtlety might have been. The old ninja had simply blazed at the Uchiha in a fit of taijutsu, occasionally throwing in a hair needle attack to try and catch the experienced missing-nin of Konoha off guard.

The more the two of them thought about it the more they realized that the Hiraishin no Jutsu was not something to be trifled with. They'd need a solution before they faced the blonde again. And who knew how long that would take to come up with? The bleeding and battered Kisame was furious as the two Akatsuki members fled from the village to report their findings.

Naruto and Jiraiya were just glad that the fight was over. The young genin was puffed. He still needed to refine his chakra control so much, because that fight had taken it out of him.

He had to get his chakra use when using the Hiraishin more under control. He was running on empty, and if that fight had gone on any longer he probably wouldn't have been able to do much more.

Normally he'd have lasted longer, but he only had around a tenth of his normal reserves. He really didn't think that when he created those clones earlier in the day that two S-rank ninja would turn up on his doorstep.

As he was walking back over to Jiraiya and the front door of his home he noticed a white object on the ground. On closer inspection he realized that it was the strange sword that the fish guy had been using.

He picked it up and it squirmed in his hands, seemingly content.

Naruto and Jiraiya walked inside to be greeted with the sight of Sakura sitting down next to an unconscious Sasuke and Karin.

"Are they finally gone?" Sakura asked before she noticed the huge sword in Naruto's hands, "What the hell is that?"

"Something one of the ninja left behind, we chased them away," Naruto said, "I'll seal us in to stop them if they come back,"

"Get some rest brats," Jiraiya said as he went and poured himself another drink before sitting down on the couch, "We'll have to let the Hokage know about this tomorrow, and we still need to look for Tsunade don't we?"

It wasn't long before they were all in bed, hoping that tomorrow wouldn't be nearly as troublesome. Karin and Sasuke oblivious to what had almost befallen them.

xXx

The next morning Naruto and Jiraiya visited the Hokage's office. Sasuke was way too hung-over and Sakura was looking after him, and Karin was still sound asleep.

"Sensei, we have a problem," Jiraiya said to the old man once they'd gotten seated, "Up until now my sources would have me believe that an organization is after the Jinchuuriki,"

This made sense. The Jinchuuriki were great sources of power and if someone could take that power and weaponise it they could hold the shinobi world for ransom.

"They made a move to take Naruto last night," now this was news to Hiruzen and his surprise showed, "Two missing-nin Kisame Hoshigaki, and Itachi Uchiha attempted to kidnap him," Jiraiya was completely serious as he gave his report, this wasn't anything to joke about. He'd almost had his apprentice taken by a rogue organization of S-rank ninja.

"I managed to keep Itachi preoccupied enough that he couldn't or didn't want to interfere with Naruto's fight,"

"You fought an S-rank missing ninja Naruto?" Hiruzen knew that he was strong but his strength hadn't really been tested on that sort of level before.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy. If the fight had gone on any longer I'm not sure what I would have been able to do," Naruto was being honest with himself and everyone else in the room. He might have been great for his age, but there were still ninja that could pretty much wipe the floor with him if they went all out.

"They retreated after Naruto got a slight advantage on Kisame, I'm not sure how long the advantage would have lasted but it didn't matter. We were lucky they left when they did that's for sure."

"This is troubling, that they would make an attempt to capture him in the middle of the village. Thankfully your jutsu will make it hard for them to actually capture you, unless they can come up with a solution. Hmmm, did they mention why they wanted you?" Hiruzen needed to find out more before he could make any decisions regarding the matter.

"No, and none of my intelligence has indicated why either, it just seems that they are starting to become more active and that they are targeting Jinchuuriki."

"We need to let the other villages know. If there is a rogue organization hunting Jinchuuriki then if they get their hands on any of them it could cause serious problems for the entire shinobi world, upsetting the balance we've all tried to maintain. Jiraiya, I need you to visit the other villages and tell them of the threat."

"Got it,"

"And Naruto," the Hokage said as he turned to the young blonde, "You can't leave this village without being accompanied by myself or Jiraiya,"

"But if I get into trouble I can just Hiraishin away?"

"For now yes, but if they come up with a solution to your little escape trick you might not be so lucky next time,"

"Hai ojii-san,"

"In the meantime train, you need to be at full strength when the time comes that they make another attempt. Jiraiya while you are away, get your spy network in order, you'll be needed here once you get back, to train Naruto full-time."

The Sannin and the blonde nodded. To be honest Naruto was kind of excited at the prospect of full time training with the Sannin. So far he'd just given him tips, pointers, a few lessons here and there, but he was never really around enough.

"Actually I don't think he needs to sacrifice much of his intelligence gathering," Naruto had an idea, "If he just takes a bunch of my Hiraishin kunai when he goes to warn the other villages he can spread them across the world. It'll create a great fast travel network. I can just drop him wherever he needs to be at a moments notice. He can train me and still keep up with his research, or spy network, or perving, whatever it is he does for the village, sometimes I think you're just paying him to be a pervert."

An expression crossed their faces that said that both men considered it to be a dream job they wished they could have, even though Jiraiya was basically already living that life.

"First though ero-sennin, we need to find Tsunade. Most of my clones made good time last night and I sent out more to expand the network today. We can start searching tomorrow I think."

"What's this?" this was the first time the Hokage had heard of any plans to retrieve Tsunade.

"Naruto wants to enlist the help of Tsunade to help his friend Rock Lee, I honestly don't think it's a bad idea either. We could use the extra hands in the village, and she'll most likely be living at Naruto's, the stinge," Jiraiya ignored the "like you can talk," and continued, "so that's more protection for him if he needs it."

"I agree. Okay Naruto, you go and find Tsunade with Jiraiya, and when you return Jiraiya will head out to warn the other villages of this new threat," What a morning, and the Hokage had been hoping for a quiet day. You never got quiet days when you were the Hokage.

The two shinobi disappeared.

xXx

By the time they returned, Sasuke was looked in slightly less pain whenever someone made a noise, and Karin, looking as good as new was sitting on the couch playing with the bandaged sword that the blonde had left in the living room.

It was almost as if it was purring, as it sat in her lap.

"Hey Naruto-kun?" Karin asked, "Where did this come from?"

"Ummm well," Naruto didn't know what to say, he wasn't sure how to break the news of Itachi's arrival to Sasuke.

"After you passed out and teme went completely out of it we were attacked."

"So it wasn't a dream," Sasuke said darkly, "Goddammit! I missed my chance!" He was so angry he punched a hole in one of the cabinets in the kitchen. Hung over or not he was pissed enough to take action.

"I thought I'd had a dream about my brother and this other ninja arriving last night, I can't believe I missed my chance," the boy had made so much progress Naruto was afraid he'd revert to the teme that he'd used to be.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said, drawing the attention of the black haired boy, "You'll get another chance, don't worry. And it wouldn't have mattered. Jiraiya and I combined had trouble standing up to them, if they didn't have to worry about drawing too much attention to themselves they probably would have taken us easily,"

"How do you know that I'll get another chance?" Sasuke had missed a golden opportunity.

"Because they are after me. It seems they want the Kyuubi. So as long as you are near me you'll get another shot at your brother, count on it. And you won't be alone teme."

Sasuke looked up the blonde, a pained look on his face as he started to tear up. Sakura, Karin and Jiraiya could only watch as the two boys talked it out.

"You're the closest thing I have to family teme, you may as well be my brother. When you face Itachi, I'll be there with you, dattebayo!"

All Sasuke could do was nod in response. Man his best friend really did know what to say.

They'd take him together. Sasuke might have had a vendetta against his older brother, but it didn't mean he had to go it alone. Itachi was after Naruto as well it would seem. They'd take him down together.

"You still didn't answer my question,"

"Huh?" Naruto said turning to the girl who'd asked the question.

"Where did you get this from?"

"Oh the fish ninja guy dropped it in the fight and didn't get the chance to pick it back up. I think he called it Samehada once after he missed an attack. It moves and stuff so maybe it's alive?"

"Yeah I can feel it has chakra," Karin said on the couch, "It seems to like absorbing mine," She didn't really have a problem with the sword absorbing her chakra, it seemed content enough, and she had enough chakra to go around, she was an Uzumaki after all.

After lunch Naruto and Karin went outside to see exactly what this sword could do. Sasuke went back to sleep, Sakura went home, and Jiraiya went to organize some things for his trip.

Samehada was pretty heavy, but Karin was able to just wield it, even if she looked clumsy with it. It was a damn good workout for the girl that was for sure.

"Here," Naruto said to his red headed girlfriend, "give me a go."

She tossed him the sword only for it to do the strangest thing. As he grabbed the handle the scales in it expanded, cutting into his hand and forcing him to drop the blade.

"OUCH," Karin rushed over to Naruto when he called out, "It didn't do that to me last night, what's its problem?"

"Maybe it only let's certain people pick it up?"

"Yeah but I could pick it up last night?"

"Maybe it likes me more now?" Karin was just as confused as her boyfriend when she went to pick up the blade and had no difficulties.

"Hmph, stupid sword," Naruto glared at the thing, as he waited for the wounds in his hand to close up.

"It feeds on chakra, so maybe it likes mine more than it likes yours?"

"Yeah whatever, you get the cool sword because it likes you,"

"Awww don't be jealous Naruto-kun," Karin said as she walked over to her boyfriend and pecked him on the lips, "Just because I'm more lovable than you are,"

Counter-intuitively when she finished saying this she cackled madly and started swinging the sword around wildly, "FEAR ME! THE ALMIGHTY KARIN UZUMAKI!"

"Oi! Watch where you're swinging that thing," She'd just barely missed Naruto with her random attacks.

xXx

(Team 8 Training Ground)

While the genin teams were for the most part on a short vacation, Team 8 were training. They needed to get stronger. This time though it was Hinata that was the driving force behind the team.

Kiba and Shino could only marvel at what had happened to the shy and timid Hinata. She'd even pulled her hair back into a ponytail so that it wouldn't get in the way during training. They'd even noticed that we she was wearing mesh leggings now. They had no idea why, but she was a completely different person after yesterday.

xXx Flashback xXx

As Hinata stormed down the street with tears in her eyes a pair of red eyes locked onto hers.

"K-Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata said, feeling like she just wanted to run and hide from her teacher. That wasn't going to happen.

"Hinata? What's wrong?"

"It-It's nothing," She sniffled.

Kurenai was a kind teacher and she was always going to be there for her students.

"Come on, let's go somewhere and you can tell me why you're crying okay? Maybe I'll be able to help?"

Hinata didn't have the strength left to object, "Okay," she said downcast.

"So," Kurenai said as they sat on the roof of one of the surrounding buildings, "What's got you upset Hinata?"

"It's Naruto-kun,"

"That little snot nosed brat I'll crush him!"

"No!" Hinata didn't want to hurt him, "he d-didn't do anything, it's just he has a girlfriend now, and I told him how I felt about him. That I loved him, but he said that he doesn't feel that way about me," she started crying more freely now.

Kurenai's expression softened at hearing that; ahhh young love.

"Right now there isn't anything you can do Hinata. If he's so set on this girl then the only thing you can possible do would be to try and show him what he's missing out on."

"O-okay," she sniffled a little, "Maybe I can do that by becoming stronger." She started to regain her composure a little.

Maybe if she could get strong enough she could prove to Naruto that she was worthy of his affection all along, she wouldn't be the timid little girl that was so afraid of telling him how she felt. That girl didn't do anything. That girl couldn't do anything.

"That's not really what I was goi-"

"I'll become strong! I'll show him what I can do! That little hussy won't know what hit her!"

Kurenai was so confused at what had become of her shy little Hinata.

xXx End Flashback xXx

Holographic chakra projections of Itachi and Kisame stood in a cavern, surrounded by a number of other projections.

"What is the status of the nine-tails?" a man with rippling purple eyes and orange hair said, looking over to the shinobi pair.

"Yeah and what happened to your stupid shark sword, un" a voice echoed across the space, originating from a blond with a strange eyepiece.

Kisame seethed at the jab the fool Deidara had made. Before he could make a comment though Itachi spoke up.

"The sword was lost during the attempt at capturing the nine-tails. He was accompanied by Jiraiya of the Sannin, who seems to be apprenticing him, and he himself was formidable, putting up quite a fight against Kisame. We had to retreat due to the boy's use of the Hiraishin no Jutsu, yes, the rumours are true" Itachi said to the shocked members of his group, "the yellow flash of Konoha has returned."

xXx

Naruto had actually put up a fight against Kisame Hoshigaki. Hiruzen was still having trouble believing the boy had lasted as long enough to force the two to retreat, as well as gain the upper hand during the fight.

Yet why was the boy such a dead last in the academy? Did he not receive the attention he needed? Was the shadow clone technique solely why he'd made up for his lack of training?

Hiruzen needed to have a talk to Iruka about the standard of the academy training. Maybe there was something he could do to help improve the standard of ninja that graduated. Who was he kidding, he was the Hokage, of course he could do something about it.

xXx

The three genin and Karin all waited for the old man to arrive at the house the next morning. Sasuke had finally recovered from his experience with Mt. Myoboku sake and was feeling better. Karin had decided to leave her new friend Samehada at home simply because she couldn't effectively use it yet and Sakura had the day off from her family to participate in the search. Frankly she just wanted to spend more time with Sasuke.

It didn't take long for Naruto to lose patience with the old Sannin and forcefully remove him from the pleasant conversation it turned out he had been having with a major civilian hotty.

"Was she a model or something?" Naruto asked the man when they were all standing around out the front of his home.

"I don't know kid, but I figure I would have found out. Oh I would have found out so much," He giggle perversely and a dribble of blood ran down out of his nose, he then snapped back to reality and angrily hit Naruto over the head, "But you RUINED IT BRAT!"

"Yeah well we have somewhere to be, you know! FINDING TSU-NA-DE," Naruto figured he had to spell it out for the old easily distracted male.

Naruto created clones that grabbed each of them and they all disappeared, reappearing near a gambling town a little while out from Konoha.

The sheer number of casino's and gambling towns in the Land of Fire was ridiculous if what Jiraiya said was anything to go off.

So it looked like they had a long day of searching ahead of them, as they walked into the hustle and bustle of the town..

At least that was the thought going through Naruto's head until he caught sight of the largest pair of breasts he had ever seen. Sasuke caught sight of them as well, immediately activating his sharingan to better capture the image of them bouncing slightly as the woman walked down the street.

What he was doing wasn't lost on Sakura when she realized what he was looking at.

She had a younger woman with her, and a small pig. Naruto wondered who the hell kept a pig as a pet, but to each their own.

"Oi ero-sennin?"

"Yeah brat?" The old man already had dried blood on his face.

"That's her isn't it?"

"Yeah brat,"

"So what do we do now?"

"Yeah brat,"

"I think he's broken," Karin said, waving a hand in front of his face, only for him to pick her up and set her to his side so she wouldn't get in the way.

"Well dobe, I'd say you go and get her to willingly come back to Konoha."

"It's going to break your bank if her gambling habits are anything to go by, unless you can convince her some other way," Sakura said from beside her Sasuke-kun.

"Why do I get the feeling that's easier said than done?"

As they talked Jiraiya just stood taking in the scenery, it'd had been way too long.

* * *

**So yeah! That happened! Glad you enjoy, next chap will be getting Tsunade back and shiznit, once again, I'm about to sit three pretty intense exams and have assignments so no guarantees on next chapter time :) And sorry for the cliffhanger hahaha I had to do it :P Read and review! Also if you like this story spread the word, the more that read the merrier :) if there are any inconsistencies or errors let me know and I'll get to fixing them :)**

WARNING: RANT INCOMING

Another addition, what I really dislike is people who leave negative reviews as a guest... if you are going to rip on something at least be man enough to let me respond... especially when you rip on the plot device I used after reading only the first chapter... The person who posted the review will never read this and I think I'm glad.

If anyone, I know 99% of you guys won't because you've made it this far, but if anyone has anything negative to say in a review, don't post it as a guest, the simple act of that and I'll remove it... because criticism can be negative and thats cool, but ranting hatefully without discussion or an avenue of discussion is just pathetic. I'm all for criticism, but not mindless anonymous hating...

Anyway had to have a bit of a rant :) 


	13. 13: A Wild Sannin Appears

**Hey guys, next chapter, got really bored of studying an introduction to telecommunications so I thought I'd write this up, it's a long one so if there are any mistakes or anything I'd appreciate you letting me know :)  
**

**OH! I FINALLY BROKE 100 REVIEWS... which to me means a lot, because it means I'm entertaining you guys somehow :P So thanks for reading my story :) Now to try for 200 :)**

**Also don't forget to Read and REVIEW! and most importantly enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 13: A Wild Sannin Appears**

* * *

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she continued towards her appointment with a poker table, "Hmmm,"

"What is it Tsunade-sama?" her pseudo-niece and assistant Shizune asked as she carried Tonton, a small pig, along beside her.

The older woman shook her head, "It must have been nothing, but I swear I could feel someone watching us, someone I know. Let's go, I've got some money to win!" She walked toward one of the casinos she miraculously didn't owe any money to yet.

xXx

"So where did she go?" Sasuke said with his hands in his pockets as the group stood in the middle of the street. He would have been reading but Jiraiya had suggested not to bring the book, he wasn't sure why.

He'd mentioned something about facing the wrath of the devil while in the presence of two angels. Man that pervert was weird.

"How do you lose breasts like that brat! I thought I'd taught you better!"

_Taught? _Sakura didn't like the sound of that, but before she could assault either of them she noticed who else was missing.

"Hey, did anyone see where Naruto or Karin went?"

Both of them looked around blankly, having not realized the two were gone and shrugged.

"Great, so we come to find someone and we lose two people; oh well I guess we better get looking," Sakura sighed; she would punish the perverts later. For now they needed to find Tsunade, Naruto and Karin.

xXx

"Come on Naruto-kun," Karin said as she pulled her boyfriend through the crowded streets with one hand and adjusted her glasses with the other.

"What? Where are we going, and why did we leave the others?" Naruto was confused.

"Oh lighten up, I haven't been able to leave the village in a month, let alone the house, and I want to do something fun with you! Without everyone else," She added, "How about we go and gamble some of our money!"

"You mean my money,"

"Yeah that," She said with a smile.

"What about Tsunade? What if she leaves?"

"She won't. I can find her with my Minds Eye of Kagura. Now lets have some fun!" she pulled him even harder towards the nearest casino.

"Your what?"

"I'll explain later," Karin said, trying to get her boyfriend to relax. Sure he had a group of S-rank ninja after him, he'd explained that much to her, but it didn't mean he couldn't enjoy time with her.

The roulette table in front of them seemed like a good enough game.

"Here Naruto," She stopped and slammed the 10000 ryo she'd nabbed from his coat pocket on black.

xXx

(30 Minutes Later)

"HEY! YOU CAN'T KICK US OUT!" Karin was furious that they'd do something like this.

The bouncer, a tall man with black hair wearing a suit, just looked down at her, "You were suspected of cheating, and have been asked to leave the premises you annoying little girl,"

Karin got a dark look in her eyes and a twisted smile played on her lips, a look Naruto knew to be afraid of by now, but she was knocked over by an older woman storming down the street before she could make the bouncer rue the day he messed with her. A woman who happened to have huge breasts.

"Hey! Watch where you're going lady!" she yelled from the ground as Naruto helped her up.

"We are terribly sorry," A woman with black hair said from beside her. Strangely she was carrying a pig.

"I'm not sorry, the little runt was in my way," Tsunade said sourly.

"Who are you calling a little runt Baa-chan!" Naruto said from his position next to his girlfriend.

Karin's heart would have fluttered at her boyfriend's defense of her if she wasn't angry at the woman in front of her.

Shizune paled, Tsunade fumed. She'd just lost a ton of money, and now this little blonde brat was calling her old!

"DO I LOOK OLD TO YOU BRAT?" She pulled her fist back.

"No! But I know how old you are Tsunade Baa-chan! You're the same age as Ero-sennin" It hadn't been hard for Naruto to recognize the woman again. Not with assets like that.

She hesitated slightly in her punishment of the boy. _Konoha ninja? ero-sennin? Jiraiya. what does he want now?_

"Hey! Tsunade!" The booming voice of Jiraiya said as he moved down the street toward them. He was accompanied by two young ninja with Konoha headbands,

"Where the hell have you two been," he said to the genin before taking note of the situation, "Errr what's going?"

"This little brat called me old," Jiraiya paled, "So I thought I'd teach him a lesson."

"Like you could teach me a lesson!" Naruto said, both angry with the woman, and confident in his abilities.

Jiraiya could only laugh, causing the medic nin to glare at him.

Tsunade turned back to the kid and not a moment later a fist slammed into the street right where Naruto had been standing.

"Where did you go you little shit,"

"I'm right here baa-chan!" Naruto said from his new position next to Sasuke. She was about to charge the little boy down again before Shizune asked a question that she was actually interested in.

"It's good to see you again Jiraiya-sama, but why are you even here? What do you want with Tsunade?" She was as polite as ever.

"Whatever it is the village wants it's not getting it from me," Tsunade said.

"Actually, it's my apprentice here that wanted your healing services."

Tsunade had somewhat put a halt to her rage and Jiraiya capitalized on the lack of killing intent, "Let's go get a drink and we can discuss it, the brat can pay."

"HEY!"

"Well if I'm not paying…," Tsunade wasn't about to turn down free drinks, not with what her day was going like so far.

Shizune could only sigh, it wasn't even lunchtime. But it had never stopped Tsunade before.

Sakura and Sasuke had pretty much had enough of Jiraiya in the thirty minutes they'd spent with him in the town. He'd hit on every single half decent woman they'd seen and with a little urging from Sakura the two of them left to go find something more entertaining to do.

The rest of the group found a small bar that wasn't going to kick them out on sight and sat down.

"So, not like it matters, but what does the little shit want me for?" Tsunade was refusing to acknowledge the blonde that referred to her as Baa-chan.

"I need you to help my friend, the medics in Konoha can't do anything to heal him, and he'll never become a ninja again if you can't help him," Naruto spoke up rather than have Jiraiya explain the situation.

"Why should I help him become something that he failed at in the first place? He should give up. Being a ninja is a foolish dream."

"I don't like your attitude Baa-chan!"

"And I don't like you at all brat, who do you think you are?" She thought back to when he'd seemingly disappeared and reappeared. This kid was strange.

"I'm Naruto Namikaze, and I'm going to be Hokage! And if you don't like my dream I don't care, because it's gonna be a reality, dattebayo!"

It still felt weird introducing himself with his father's surname. Originally, after he'd found out, he'd wanted to keep it a secret. Obviously the less people that knew the better, his father had enemies after all. But after the Chunin Exam word was going to spread anyway, people had put two and two together.

He was proud to be his father's son and felt no need to hide it from the world any longer. To be frank he didn't care what enemies his father had, if they had a problem with him they could take it up with his fist.

Tsunade almost coughed up her drink when she realized who this kid was and what he'd done outside. So the rumors were true. The Yellow Flash of Konoha was back.

"Right, well it doesn't change the fact that you probably won't even make it to the age where you'll be considered for Hokage," she said bitterly, "And what do you have that would make me want to return to Konoha? So far all you've given me is that I'll be helping some kid's dream. A dream that I don't even agree wit-,"

"Money," Naruto said before she could finish, "If you won't return to your home village because it needs you in someway then I'll just have to pay you,"

"What? With pocket money? How could a kid like you afford the services of a ninja like me," She had an arrogant look on her face until Karin pulled a wad of cash out of her pocket and dropped it on the table.

"That is quite a lot of money," Shizune said simply as she stared wide-eyed at the cash on the table. Tonton oinked seemingly in agreement.

"Three hundred thousand ryo," the red haired girl said, confirming that it was indeed a fair sum of cash for a child to be carrying around.

Jiraiya and Tsunade could only stare dumbfounded at how much money Naruto and Karin had on them.

"What? We went to the casino earlier," Naruto said casually when they started giving him weird looks.

"Wait?" Jiraiya said, trying to clarify, "You won all of that today? In half an hour?"

"Yeah we got kicked out because they thought we were cheating eventually, even though we so weren't! How can you cheat at roulette! But that was the stuff we'd won before they booted us," Naruto explained, Karin nodding for confirmation.

_HOLY CRAP THAT KID HAS SOME LUCK_. _And that's a lot of cash for a healing job, maybe if I help this kid out his luck will rub off on me._ Tsunade, as much as she disliked the brat couldn't help but accept the offer now.

"Okay, I'll come back to heal this kid. But don't expect me to hang around," Tsunade said to Jiraiya. Shizune was glad that she was going back to Konoha too, even if it was only for a little while.

"I'm assuming with that jutsu of yours we can be back in Konoha almost straight away?" she asked Naruto.

"Yeah, do you want to go check on him now?"

"The sooner we can get this over with the better," Tsunade stood, and Naruto reluctantly paid as they left the bar.

xXx

(Later that Night – Namikaze House)

Naruto had taken Tsunade straight to Tenten through the use of the Hiraishin no Jutsu and the brown haired girl had nearly fainted from excitement. Once she recovered, the girl had taken Tsunade and Shizune to the hospital to visit Lee.

The diagnosis at the moment was that his chance of recovery was small and that the procedure would take a while to prepare and complete so they'd start it in the morning. Which meant in the meantime that Tsunade needed a place to stay.

Jiraiya, being the gentleman (read: pervert) that he was, offered Tsunade a place to stay at Naruto's and Tsunade, being the polite (read: cheap) person that she was, gratefully accepted.

Needless to say while Naruto was glad that she'd accepted to help Lee at all he wasn't happy with this woman staying the night. But there wasn't much he could do about that now.

Sasuke and Sakura had called for pick up later in the afternoon but wouldn't elaborate on exactly what it was they'd been doing in the gambling town.

After they were all back they'd introduced themselves properly and the female Sannin had been surprised to learn that Karin was an Uzumaki.

Now Sasuke was sitting on the couch downstairs reading, and Sakura had gone home. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Naruto and Karin were around the dinner table eating while Shizune and Tonton were already asleep.

"So brat, what does this kid mean to you for you to pay me such a large amount of money to fix him?"

"He's just a friend, why does it matter to you, you're still getting paid," frankly Naruto was still annoyed at this woman's attitude, even if she was helping, she was being paid to. It wasn't out of the goodness of her heart for the village that she'd grown up in.

"Just a friend? And you'd blow that cash on him?"

"More if I had to," her eyebrow raised, "But we've already agreed on a price," Naruto said, causing Tsunade to look slightly disappointed.

"Why though?"

"Why should it matter?" Karin spoke up from the table, "A medic-nin is supposed to try and help anyone that needs help, whether or not you like them, you should know that,"

"Fancy yourself a little medic then?" Tsunade said to the red headed girl, getting a stern nod, "Well doing that isn't going to help me pay my bills," she added before Naruto continued, drawing her attention.

"I'm doing it because he's my friend and he has a dream that he won't fulfill if you don't help him. He spends so much time cooped up inside and if you knew him you'd know how hard that is for him. I know how I'd feel if I couldn't fulfill my dream,"

"What? To become Hokage? Give it up kid, before you die trying," the look on Tsunade's face confused Naruto, like she had mixed feelings on the matter.

"No, I won't give up on my dream no matter what,"

"Yeah whatever, keep telling yourself that when you're bleeding out,"

Jiraiya wasn't going to interrupt, but he wasn't happy with what was being said by his old teammate. While he wouldn't speak up though, Karin would.

"You don't know what you're talking about Baa-chan, Naruto-kun is the greatest ninja I know, he saved me from Orochimaru,"

At this Tsunade was surprised.

"He fought Orochimaru?" She looked to Jiraiya for confirmation.

"Yeah the little brat is pretty crazy when it comes to fighting, thanks to the Hiraishin no Jutsu and the other tricks he has," Jiraiya had finally spoken up from his position on the table, "He might not have been able to win, but he's twelve. No twelve year old would be expected to even survive 10 seconds against Orochimaru. He managed to save Karin here from a rather untimely demise from the way she tells the story,"

"Look I don't want to be having this conversation," Naruto said, "Baa-chan here obviously hates anyone with a dream to become a ninja, I'm not going to give it up, so I'm going to bed," He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her attitude. After getting up and saying goodnight to Karin with a quick kiss he Hiraishined away.

"Why have you got such a problem with him wanting to be Hokage?" Sasuke said from his position on the couch. He'd been reading, but it didn't stop him listening in.

Now Tsunade was the one to look a little uncomfortable, "Because it's a foolish dream. I bet he just wants to be Hokage for the glory,"

"Not really," Sasuke said, not bothering to look up from his book, "He wants the recognition of being a great ninja yes, but more importantly he wants to be Hokage so he can protect the village and the people close to him. I don't think that's a foolish dream. He can do it to. If anyone else were to say that to me I wouldn't believe them. But Naruto's different."

"Yeah yeah whatever brat," Tsunade tried to play down the fact that what he'd said affected her and she got the perfect opportunity to change the subject when she saw exactly what it was Sasuke was reading.

Turning toward Jiraiya, "Jiraiya, why is a twelve year old reading your smut," she said with a threatening voice and a fake smile.

"Uhhh yeahhh," before he could come up with a good enough excuse she'd clobbered him over the head.

"Stop corrupting the next generation!"

Sasuke and Karin could only laugh at what had just unfolded between the two teammates, until Tsunade turned to Sasuke and cracked her knuckles, "You're next,"

Now it was only Karin laughing, until Sasuke started to say something about her reading Icha Icha as well.

"Right, like any woman would read smut like that," Tsunade said, turning to the redhead to see what she thought of Sasuke's "excuse" only to find the girl's seat empty.

"Okay well if she's not here I guess you'll do," she turned back to Sasuke. Maybe if she got him young she could beat the perversion out of him before it was too late.

Now Sasuke knew why Jiraiya hadn't wanted him to bring the book.

xXx

"Hey Karin," Naruto said when she'd climbed into bed with him after her tactical retreat from a rampaging Tsunade, "What did you mean earlier when you said you could find Tsunade with your Minds Eye of Kagura?"

"Oh, I guess I never really explained how I could feel Orochimaru when he was at the tournament. I have a sensor technique that in short allows me to detect and locate people over pretty large distances."

"How far are we talking?"

"At the moment eight kilometers is about my max."

"What! That's incredible. Hmmph no wonder you can always find me when we train," Naruto just kept being more and more surprised by the girl who had just been dropped into his life about a month ago.

"What are you going to do with Samehada?"

"Use it of course,"

"How? You can't even swing it properly at the moment,"

"It likes me, and I like it, and I need to get stronger. It can help me with that, and you can too. I'm just going to need someone to help me learn how to use it."

"I could train you?"

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but using a tanto is a little different to using a sword that is bigger than you are. Train me in everything else. But I need to find someone to train in kenjutsu if I'm ever going to be strong enough to protect you from these Akatsuki guys,"

"Yeah like I'll let you-,"

She placed a finger on his lips to shut him up.

"I don't have a say in the matter do I?"

"Nope, now go to sleep."

xXx

The next day while Naruto and Karin trained, and Sasuke and Sakura once again disappeared. Tsunade and Shizune spent most of the day operating on Lee. By the time the operation was finished they were successful, but exhausted.

That night when Jiraiya and Tsunade were out getting drinks, the woman turned to him, "I think I'm going to stay a little while longer,"

"Hahaha, the brats getting to you?"

She huffed, not wanting to admit it, "Shizune likes it here, that's all," She said, trying to hide the truth.

Jiraiya could only laugh at the badly executed lie.

"I'll talk to Naruto, I'm sure he'll let you stay longer when I let him know you're an Uzumaki."

"Why would he car-, oh yeah, his mother was an Uzumaki wasn't she?" Tsunade said, thinking back to what she actually knew of the girl. She'd never known her in person, but she'd remember seeing her running around the town with that striking Uzumaki hair and she'd heard stories from the Jounin.

That and Jiraiya was always filling her in on his star student. She'd been surprised when she heard that Minato was married.

"Her name was Kushina, and yes she was. You, and the two kids are probably the last Uzumakis alive. I figure it's only poetic you all live together," Jiraiya said with a badly hidden grin.

"You don't think it's poetic. You just think it'll be funny!" Tsunade threw her glass at him, before getting another and pouring herself a new drink, "Still it'll save me money. I'll just have to put up with him and that redhead."

"Good it's settled, I'll talk to sensei about getting you a top position in the hospital as well,"

The woman only nodded. As much as she hated to admit, it was kind of nice being back home.

xXx

Naruto wasn't exactly happy about giving out another of his guest rooms to 'Tsunade Baa-chan' for another night, but she seemed a little easier to get along with when she came back with Jiraiya.

I mean she'd be out of his hair soon enough, she was just staying for the night and then leaving the next morning. Or so he thought until Jiraiya pulled him aside when they got back.

"Okay kid, here's the deal, Tsunade has decided that she wants to stay in the village a little longer. She doesn't have anywhere to stay really so I offered her a place here indefinitely."

"You can't just go around offering rooms! Give me one good reason why I should let her stay here."

"I'll give you two brat. One, she's an Uzumaki," Naruto's expression softened a little, "and two, because she is one of the greatest ninja I have ever met and she could likely teach you a thing or two," the last reason humbled the little blonde a little and Naruto knew Jiraiya was right.

He still had so much to learn. Maybe if they could get off to a fresh start then things would be okay between the Sannin and the blonde. He couldn't guarantee what Karin would say though.

"Okay, but you do realize you are going to pay for this right?" Jiraiya just laughed as the boy looked at him threateningly; until he released the repertoire of skills Naruto had at his disposal, blanching a little, "Exactly ero-sennin, exactly," Naruto said when he was sure Jiraiya knew who he was messing with.

Walking up to the chest heavy medic-nin he paused, "Tsunade Baa-chan, I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot and I still think that your opinion on my dream is stupid, but if you want to stay here then that's okay with me,"

Jiraiya was shocked at Naruto being polite, and then he facepalmed at the fact that he'd still managed to call her Baa-chan and disregard her opinion.

"Yeah okay kid, you still gonna call me Baa-chan?"

"Yep,"

She couldn't help but sigh, a smile playing across her face before she launched him across the room. "Still calling you Baa-chan," He shouted over his shoulder as he hurried up to the library, pulling out a scroll on sealing and poring over it.

He still had so much to learn. Everything else he'd learnt so far he could practically brute force his body into learning through the use of shadow clones. This he had to understand. Sure a few shadow clones might help, but he still needed to learn the forms and the art of fuuinjutsu before he brute forced any training for it.

He wanted to try and invent his own seals after all, and clones wouldn't help there.

"Can you show me how to do that?" Karin said from the door.

The blonde smiled as he turned around and beckoned her over, "Sure."

He spent the next few hours teaching the girl closest to him as much as he could, glad she was a fast learner, before a thought crossed his mind.

"Karin-chan?"

"Yes?"

"How much chakra do you think you have? I was thinking earlier about your Mind's Eye of Kagura, and a technique with a range like that would take massive amounts of chakra or extreme chakra control, probably both. Don't you ever get tired from using it?"

"I'm an Uzumaki, so I guess I have a lot. I've never really thought about how much I have Naruto-kun, but I don't ever get tired," she winked at him when she said this but the insinuation flew straight over his head. She really needed to get him to read Icha Icha or get him up to speed somehow. She could definitely think of more interesting ways than him reading Icha Icha.

"Well how about I teach you the first real technique I learnt and see how well you can use it?" He proceeded to show her the steps to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and it wasn't long before she looked like she'd be able to do it.

"Okay," he said, looking around, making sure that if a bunch of Karins burst into existence they wouldn't break anything.

"Try it with a medium amount of chakra."

The girl went through the necessary motions for the technique and twenty Karin clones burst into existence, cramped in the tiny room before dispelling again.

"Wow, twenty clones is pretty good, I don't think you should try putting more power into it until we go outside," to Naruto it made sense; she was an Uzumaki. The reason he had even more massive reserves was simply due to having the Kyuubi inside of him since birth.

Karin just nodded, her mind swimming with the possibilities of what she could do to Naruto if there were even just two of her. And then she realized he could do the same thing.

She managed to hide the slight nosebleed on her face quite well from the boy sitting beside her.

xXx

The next day everyone was standing in the grounds of the Namikaze household waving farewell to the perverted man that was practically their guardian, as pathetic a guardian as he was.

"Make sure you get good material for the next one," Sasuke said from his position in the lineup, a lineup that included three now angry looking women in the form of Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune. Sakura was the closest, and therefore the first to smack him over the head.

She couldn't help but think that maybe she was going about it the wrong way. Hitting him wasn't producing any results; he was still as perverted as usual. She'd have to come up with another way to prevent him from turning into Jiraiya.

After the rest of the group had said their goodbyes, Tsunade gave him a hug, using it as a way to get close enough to clobber the man again for turning Sasuke into the boy that he was.

"Stop. Setting. Bad. Examples!" each word emphasized by a hit.

"Hey, he's better than he used to be, right teme?" Naruto said from his position next to the sage.

"Tch, no," Sasuke wasn't going to acknowledge to anyone how much of a buzz kill he knew he'd been. He wondered how he ever expected to get strong enough to fight Itachi without the help of his team.

"Anyway," Jiraiya said, rubbing the new welt on his head, "I better get going. Naruto, drop me as close as you can to Kumogakure," after getting a nod from the boy, they disappeared.

"Hey kid," the sage said once they were alone, "Keep out of trouble, I've got some neat tricks I want to teach you when I get back from all this, so you being alive would help."

"Yeah yeah whatever, you be careful you pervert, and don't worry, these Akatsuki guys have got nothing on me," Naruto said with his signature false bravado.

Jiraiya could only chuckle as the boy disappeared and the man began the rest of his journey on foot.

xXx

"If that is all then you are dismissed," Pein said to the two holographic projections in front of him in the dark cavern.

"Hai," Itachi said to the leader of the Akatsuki as the projections of Kisame and himself faded to nothing.

Pein wasn't happy with the full report from Kisame and Itachi. Kisame's effectiveness at capturing jinchuuriki would be seriously affected with his loss of Samehada, and the man himself was visibly disturbed without his companion.

He had a feeling this Naruto child was going to become a serious thorn in their side if he continued to progress in his training, and if Jiraiya really was his teacher then he was only going to improve.

How did a child even learn a technique like that? If they were going to subdue him they needed a way to neutralize the Hiraishin no Jutsu. He'd have to talk to Sasori and see what the puppet master could come up with.

xXx

Naruto returned and Tsunade and Shizune started to relax on the porch now that they had nothing to do while the four genin started training. It was the last day they had free before they went back on missions.

Karin started training with Samehada again, woefully wielding the sword due to its size and weight in comparison to her. As much as she liked to gloat about how she didn't get tired, the combination of throwing the massive thing around all day and it's consumption of her chakra was wearing her down more than usual.

Sasuke and Sakura were off working on their own techniques somewhere in the compound; they'd all have enough time to work on team training once they went back on missions. Naruto had a bunch of clones working on differing techniques while he worked on helping to train his girlfriend.

That was until an unexpected visit from the Hokage. It was unexpected in that they didn't know the reason of his visit; Karin had picked up his chakra signature as soon as her neared the compound.

"Hey Ojii-san!" Naruto waved at the old man from a distance. Tsunade and Shizune, who had been watching the two training, face faulted at hearing how the blonde addressed the God of Shinobi.

"Naruto," the elderly man said as he approached with a smile.

"What's up?"

"I came to talk with you about something."

"Yeah what is it?"

"With the recent breaches of security and the threat to your safety I will not be putting Team 7 back on active duty just yet."

"What? Awwww man," Naruto wanted to go back to doing missions, as much as he liked getting stronger training it was fun to go on missions with Kakashi-sensei and the rest of his team.

"It's too dangerous Naruto. I do however have something for you to do until I believe that it is okay for your team to leave the village and go on missions; for now we need to find out more and inform the other villages of the threat. But as I was saying there is something you can do in the meantime when you aren't training. After talking to Iruka and seeing how you yourself have progressed in such a short time I've decided that I will be starting up a new initiative and you and your team can be my guinea pigs."

Naruto was suspicious, he didn't like the sound of where this was going, "What do we have to do?"

"You will each be mentoring a student from the academy. We hope this will better improve the quality of the graduates once we can get more and more genin and chunin mentors. It's to let those who excel continue to excel without having the instructors spend too much time on them. But it's also for students who aren't doing so well and with a little bit of one on one attention should improve, I'm sure you understand?"

Naruto knew all to well what he meant.

"You and your teammates have shown marked improvement since graduation and you are responsible" the bodyguard next to him coughed; it almost sounded as if he'd said 'yeah right', "… enough. You and your team can test the program while you are off duty," Hiruzen figured he could kill two birds with one stone that way.

"Okay, so do I get to pick my student?"

"I guess seeing as how this is a trial you may, who would you like?" The Hokage asked, already with an idea of who it might be.

"Konohamaru,"

The old man could only smile, "If that's what you want I suppose my grandson could be your mentee. From what he tells me you were already helping him somewhat before the chunin exams,"

"Okay cool, well when do we start?"

"You can meet him after he gets out of class tomorrow,"

"Ummm, Hokage-sama, am I still going to be put on a team? Or am I going to mentor someone too?" Karin said from her position next to Naruto, the sword resting clumsily against her shoulder.

"I've decided that yo-," the Hokage turned, giving his full attention to Karin before realising exactly what weapon she was holding, his jaw dropping.

"You didn't tell me Kisame left Samehada!" this was a seriously powerful sword. The Hokage wondered how Karin was even wielding it; there were rumors about it being particularly picky.

"Oh yeah, we must have left that out. You aren't going to take it off her are you? They're kind of attached to each other now," Naruto said with a sheepish smile, embarrassed that he'd left that particular part out of the report.

"No, no, but it looks like you are having trouble using that," if Karin were to learn how to correctly use that sword she'd be a force to be reckoned with. But she needed someone to teach her. The Hokage wracked his brain for a second before he decided what he'd do with the girl.

"I was going to put you on a team, but now that I know you have an affinity with Samehada I think I've something better for you; Cat,"

Within seconds of uttering her ANBU alias a purple haired nin with a porcelain ANBU mask painted like a cat appeared in front of them. Strangely he noticed that Karin had followed her movement the entire way. How had she known she was even there?

The girl was still a mystery to him so he'd have to find out more; maybe his bodyguard could inform him of her skills while she trained the girl.

"I'd like you to train this girl in the art of kenjutsu, she's obviously struggling," he pointed to the way she was holding the weapon. With the number of threats to the village increasing they needed to improve the quality of their shinobi as best they could and he could find another bodyguard to replace her for whenever she was training the girl.

"Hai Hokage-sama,"

"Good, you can start tomorrow, I suppose Karin being trained by an ANBU here isn't an issue Naruto?"

"Are you kidding? It's great! I didn't know who we'd be able to go to for kenjutsu training, and damaging stuff isn't really an issue; we tear this place up every day. Nothing a few hundred clones can't fix every now and again,"

"Good, well its settled. Iruka and the trial mentees will meet you and your team tomorrow after academy classes while Karin will be trained here. Oh and Tsunade and Shizune, meet me in my office tomorrow and I'll get you setup to work in the hospital."

They both looked a little crestfallen at how short their vacation had been, but nodded in confirmation before the Hokage and the clearly visible bodyguard he had with him turned to leave.

"Hey Ojii-san!"

"Yes Naruto?" The wizened old man said, turning back to face the young boy.

"What about promotions?"

"They will also be sorted out tomorrow, but I'm afraid you and Sasuke won't be getting promoted to Chunin this time around."

"WHAT?" Karin looked as surprised as Naruto. She knew the strength of the boy training her.

"Yes the council came to that decision because of the way you two didn't try and defuse the situation with Gaara when a possible invasion was on the way. An invasion you knew about. They all agree you are incredibly strong for your age, but you two showed a lack of proper judgment in their eyes."

Naruto was crestfallen; he'd been sure that he was going to get promoted. Guess he'd have to stop being cocky about how strong his techniques were.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure you two will be promoted in the field in no time," the Hokage said with a gentle smile.

"Yeah I guess… wait, we aren't going back on active duty so we can't get promoted! That's so unfair," Naruto pouted, this was so crap, but he guessed the old man did have a point.

"Hmmm that is true, well your chance will come,"

"So who did get promoted?"

"I'm sure you'll find out tomorrow. Now I have things to attend to, good day Naruto,"

The old man and his bodyguard disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto and Karin went back to working on building her strength but it wasn't long before Tsunade spoke up.

"Kid how can you expect to hit anyone when you can't even swing that sword properly,"

"What do you think we're trying to do? If she trains with it, she'll build her strength to the point where she can use properly." Naruto retorted

"That's going to take too long," Tsunade said, "If you are training with an ANBU tomorrow it'll help if you can actually swing the sword with ease."

"What do you suggest?" Karin said, panting from the effort she was making; her muscles protesting with every movement.

"Chakra. I've seen some of the hits Naruto's made during training. So I guess you've all got down how to augment your attacks with chakra. But you can augment general strength with it as well. How much do you know about the human body? You're a medic right?" The girl nodded, "good, so you should have a basic understanding of anatomy."

"I was the medic for my squad back before the chunin exams, so I would say enough,"

"Okay it's pretty simple. Reinforce the muscles and bones you use in a particular motion with chakra, and burst the chakra in a particular muscle whenever you would contract that muscle. Until your chakra control is better, and until you learn more about the human body to have pinpoint control it will use a lot of chakra, but you're an Uzumaki, so I think you can handle it. At least you'll be able to swing that sword until you get old enough and strong enough to use it without the strength augmentation."

"Thankyou Tsunade-sama," Karin was grateful that the Sannin had taught her something and the Sannin was surprised that she hadn't called her baa-chan.

"And don't go picking something up over your head until you're positive you can maintain the technique," She added in warning when she saw Naruto running over to the nearest boulder he could find to lift over his head, "Also, the technique can be dangerous for your body if not executed properly, so practice a little at a time you two,"

When he realized why it could be dangerous doing what he'd planned he stopped and went to find something else to practice with. She had a feeling he wouldn't be getting the hang of the technique anytime soon. It required much more control than bursting chakra during a hit. If Karin was a basic medic-nin in her old squad she'd be picking up the technique much faster.

Tsunade made a note to herself to find out exactly what this girl knew about the healing arts; she might be able to help her along when she had free time. From everything Jiraiya told her, and the fact she was living here now, she didn't see the harm in improving the quality of the ninja in Konoha.

Karin didn't seem like the kind of pansy girl that would give up either. Not after what she'd seen today of the girl and her training with the sword. She looked like she could barely stand up, the sweat pouring from her face as she swung Samehada around.

Karin's thoughts were on something completely different though as she struggled to see through the sweat-fogged glasses she was wearing. She really needed contacts.

xXx

That afternoon as Naruto was getting undressed out of his training clothes he noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of one of his pockets.

_I am sorry that you have to be informed this way, but I wanted to let you know that it wasn't your actions during the chunin exam that prevented your promotion. _

_The council and the elders of the village decided that in order to better keep tabs on you and Sasuke you wouldn't be promoted this time around. _

_They want to keep you a genin due to your status as the Jinchuuriki of the village. Sasuke is also being watched due to Orochimaru's interest in him. _

_They believe that the longer you two remain genin the longer they can control you and protect themselves from whatever danger might be present._

_Frankly I think they are all blind fools. The intelligence and fighting ability you both displayed during the chunin exams was easily deserving of a promotion._

_Don't worry though as they cannot contest a field promotion, just give me a good enough reason, and the two of you will get your flak jackets._

The letter was unsigned but it was clear who had written it. Naruto wasted no time in sharing the news with Karin and the rest of his team.

He didn't know when the old man had managed to slip him the letter, but then again, he was the God of Shinobi.

xXx

Jiraiya had just opened up the bottle of sake he'd brought with him as he sat against a tree. With the head start the kid had given him he wasn't in any sort of rush.

However after trying to take a drink he realized something was off. The bottle was completely empty.

That was when he heard the hissing noise. A hissing noise emanating from within the bottle. He threw it as fast as he could into the air before it exploded into hundreds of tiny shards.

He was going to kill that little shit when he got back. And he was going to take some of his Mt. Myoboku Sake as compensation.

xXx

For most of the morning Karin and the team trained. Karin just played around with trying to get the strength augmentation Tsunade had taught her down, while trying not to use so much chakra that she couldn't perform properly during her first training session.

Sakura and Sasuke had both been disappointed at hearing that they weren't going back on active duty and Sasuke had been seriously annoyed that he hadn't gotten a promotion. They had lunch at Ichiraku's and all decided to go split up and do their own thing until they met again at the academy, while Karin went back to the compound to get in a little final training before her kenjutsu session.

When Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the academy they were confronted with a sight that shouldn't have shocked them, but did anyway.

Sakura was standing waiting for the end of the academy classes, only this time she was wearing a flak jacket. They guessed in the few hours they were split up they'd handed out the promotions.

"Teme," Naruto said as they approached, "Are we ever going to live this down?"

"I highly doubt it dobe,"

"Hey guys!" Sakura said with an excited smile, "Isn't this jacket great, it's so comfy, and stylish, and it's full of pockets," she continued to show off her jacket, turning so that they could see it in all it's glory.

"Yeah yeah, we get it," Naruto said gruffly.

"Nah I don't think you do," Sakura continued with a cheeky grin, "It's like wearing body armor and basically means I get to boss you around!"

"Good way to show the maturity of being a chunin," Sasuke mumbled. Neither of the boys could deny that they weren't just a little bit jealous of the fact their teammate was a chunin. They didn't have long to dwell on it though when the doors opened and a bunch of children came rushing through the threshold.

When they'd all dispersed Iruka called the two genin and their chunin friend into one of the classrooms where three students sat.

One the students the three knew as Konohamaru, and the second was a small girl that looked vaguely familiar to Naruto. She had black hair and white pupiless eyes so she must have been a Hyuuga. There was however a noticeable age difference between her and the two boys sitting either side of her.

The final student was a slightly shorter than average boy that wore glasses and had short blonde hair and green eyes. None of team 7 could really pick exactly what clan he was from and assumed that he might have been a civilian like Sakura. He looked pretty nervous.

"Okay you three," Iruka addressed the three students, "These will be your mentors, you will each be assigned to one of them, and if you have any questions about the ninja arts or anything in general you can go to them for answers. They will also help you train if you so wish, but not all the time, as they themselves have to train."

"Hey Nii-chan!" Konohamaru said as soon as there was a break in Iruka's speech, getting a glare from his teacher and a wave from Naruto.

"Anyway it seems you are already familiar with Naruto Konohamaru and your grandfather said that Naruto requested you as a mentee, so you will be with him for the duration of the program,"

"About that," Sakura piped in, "How long can we expect to be mentoring?"

"We haven't decided how long, so for now, indefinitely. We just think it's a good idea if future graduates have connections with the older generations and learn from them,"

Sasuke understood, and nodded. He also noted the stern looking black haired girl was trying to bore a hole through him with her gaze.

"I'm assuming I get the midget in the middle?" Sasuke said, pointing to the girl.

"Yes, but her name is Hanabi Hyuuga, heir to the Hyuuga household. She was already accelerated through the academy program, so when her father heard about her name being offered up to the trial he specifically requested that you be her mentor. In the end it worked out that way,"

"Tch, I really don't care who she is, or what her father wanted, if she's my brat to take care of I'll take care of her, but she better listen to what I say and not do anything stupid. I've got to keep training or I'll never catch up to dobe here," then a thought popped into his head, "Actually dobe, how about we make this a competition,"

"What do ya mean teme?"

"We'll have both our mentees fight in a month. Whoever comes out on top obviously has the better teacher."

"Hmmm but yours has the byakugan," Naruto went on, talking to Sasuke as if the kids weren't even in the room. Iruka just facepalmed. This was not what the program was about, but in the end if it produced the proper results than he supposed it didn't matter, "But Konohamaru will still kick her ass when I'm through with him."

"Hear that Hanabi! Bring it on," Konohamaru was pumped. He wanted to show that know it all what was what.

"Right, as if you could defeat me, you're almost dead last in this class,"

"Not with Naruto training me properly I won't be!"

"ANYWAY," Iruka said forcefully, trying to continue the introductions so he could leave.

"This here is Hano Shiretti. His parents are civilians and we've decided to see how he improves when he's taught by a ninja outside of the academy. Obviously Sakura you'll be his mentor. Hano," Iruka said, addressing the boy, "you didn't see the chunin exam finals because of class, but from what I've heard Sakura was extremely impressive and even got promoted before Naruto and Sasuke here," dark rain clouds appeared over their heads as they looked at the ground, depressed.

"I'm sure she'll teach you many important things about being a shinobi."

"Yeah," Sakura said with a smile, "You got the best member of team 7 and I bet in a month you'll be able to floor those two rookies," she said, looking in the direction Hanabi and Konohamaru.

Iruka face palmed again before making his way to the exit, "Right, well my job here is done, I'll leave you all to get better acquainted."

xXx

(Meanwhile at the Namikaze compound)

Karin had to admit that without her mask on the ANBU was pretty. She had soft brown eyes and was wearing a reddish lipstick. She had her regular ANBU outfit on and her violet hair tied in a ponytail.

She was also holding a katana that looked deadly, with another strapped to her back that had a slightly wider blade.

"Karin, my name is Yuugao, and at the instruction of the Hokage I will be your kenjutsu teacher. How much kenjutsu do you currently know?"

"Ummm, none," Karin offered a meek grin, embarrassed at her lack of knowledge.

"It's okay, that's what I'm here for, now how about we start you off with a smaller weapon. One that you can handle,"

"I think I'd rather train with Samehada. The more time I spend using it the better I'll become."

"This is true, but how are you going to be able to effectively use it now?"

"I've got something I started working on yesterday, but at the moment, with Samehada absorbing my chakra, and using the technique I'm learning to wield it it I'm not sure how long I can last,"

"It's okay, just try to train for as long as you can," Yuugao had heard the rumors about Samehada. It was a legendary sword, one that had a mind of it's own. To think that it really consumed its user's chakra. _This girl must have a lot for her age_.

They started going through kenjutsu katas and styles and while Karin was still clumsily wielding the blade she could definitely feel the improvement she had with just her rudimentary use of Tsunade's strength augmentation.

xXx

"So it's Hanabi right?" Sasuke said as he walked down the street with his mentee. He needed to go and find a place to test what she knew, maybe the old team training ground.

Speaking of team, he wondered what Kakashi was doing now. Probably relishing in all the free time he had to read Icha Icha. Sasuke knew that's what he'd be doing if he wasn't babysitting this clan brat.

"Yeah! And I don't like what you said about me in there,"

"I don't care. You think you're all that because you have a doujutsu and are from a clan. I was the same, and then I got shown up. If I could tell you one thing, it's to never refuse help from others. They might know more than you think," he said thinking back to the mission to wave.

It felt like just yesterday he'd started accepting the help of his friends. He was so much stronger now than he ever thought he'd be after such a short time.

"What if they are below me?"

"And you need to get rid of that attitude when you become a ninja," Sasuke said looking down at the little girl, "You might think they are below you. You do that and they'll plant a kunai in your neck, then you'll be below them, bleeding out on the ground dead," the little girl paled slightly at the mental image her mentor had just given her.

"Don't rest on your laurels, because there is always more to learn. Now follow me, I want to see what you're made of." Sasuke pulled out his book and picked up the pace a little, leading the girl to the training ground where Naruto had first shown his true power.

xXx

(Ichiraku's Ramen)

"So Nii-chan when are you gonna teach me some really cool moves?"

"Eventually," Naruto said as sagely as he could, gracefully accepting a bowl of ramen from Teuchi, "But first," he paused for dramatic effect, "YOU MUST LEARN TO APPRECIATE THE DELICIOUSNESS OF RAMEN," he shouted, his chopsticks pointed in the air, completely wrecking any image Konohamaru had of him being wizened and sage-like. He proceeded to hoe into the noodles.

Konohamaru had thought for a second Naruto was going to say something serious. When he heard what his awesome mentor had to say all he could do was smash his head on the counter as Teuchi chuckled at the young blonde.

"Nah but seriously," Naruto said through a mouthful of ramen, "We need to get you up to speed if we are competing with Sasuke and that Hanabi girl. What can you tell me about her?"

"She's pretty much top of the class in everything, it's so crap, it's because she gets trained at home" Konohamaru said, annoyed that he was being beaten in class by a girl. That being said he was kind of being beaten by almost everyone.

"What did she mean when she said you were almost dead last?"

"Ummm,"

"Really Konohamaru? I thought you were training more?"

"I am, kinda. I want you to teach me some cool moves,"

"Yeah yeah, but you have to work hard Konohamaru, when I'm not training you, you have to be training yourself. How do you think I got to where I'm at today? I didn't have anyone babysitting me, got it?"

Naruto finished his ramen and stood after paying Teuchi. He led the boy outside where they walked a little down the street.

"Yeah, I'll start training more at home, I'm gonna be Hokage after all,"

"Good, now lets go see how many laps of my compound you can run,"

"WHAT? I thought you said you were gonna teach me cool moves?"

"Nope, you didn't have any ramen, so you obviously don't appreciate it. I think after one hundred laps you'll have more of a hunger for the most delicious food on the planet," Naruto said with a smile before he grabbed his student and hirashinned away. Konohamaru could only wonder why the coolest genin he knew was also the craziest.

xXx

"So Hano, tell me more about yourself," Sakura said brightly as they walked down the street.

"Umm, my parents are merchants but I've always wanted to be a cool ninja like the ones I used to watch at the Chunin exams."

"What would you say you are good at when it comes to being a ninja,"

"Well," he paused, thinking hard about what would make him a good ninja, "I don't know," he looked a little embarrassed that he had no idea.

"Haha, that's okay, it took me a while to work out what I like, and I'm still learning, so that's okay. We'll just have to work out your strengths and weaknesses and work on them before you fight Konohamaru and Hanabi,"

"Oh, are you really going to make me fight them?" the kid didn't look confident in himself at all. It kind of reminded Sakura of how she used to feel about her strength before Naruto taught her.

"Don't worry, I'll turn you into a kick ass ninja, I just have one more question,"

"W-what is it?"

"Do you have any perverted tendencies?"

"Pardon Sakura-sensei?"

"Answer the question,"

"N-no?" to be honest the boy had no idea what she was talking about.

"Good!" she said with a wide smile before she took off, prompting him to follow her.

xXx

(One Week Later - Somewhere in Ta no Kuni – Land of Rice Fields)

"How far out from the village do you think we are?"

"Probably another week if we keep moving at this pace,"

"I can't believe we have to go and retrieve some brat. What does he have that we don't"

"The sharingan you idiot, now let's get moving, we don't want to keep Orochimaru-sama waiting,"

The four sound ninja took off into the woods, making their way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

* * *

**So yeah, hope you enjoyed.**

**Something to note:**

Some of you might have been wondering why Samehada chose Karin over Naruto. While it does like users with large amounts of Chakra it is also picky of the taste of the Chakra obviously it likes Karin's more than Naruto's and there is a reason for that. First person to guess why correctly I'll reveal a spoiler or piece of information to (within reason and if I've far enough ahead for the information you want). Also for the people saying that Karin has small amounts of chakra I hope I explained well enough in this chapter that she doesn't. Uzumaki's naturally have heaps of chakra and she's no exception.

Anyway until next time :)


	14. 14: Taken

**Hey Guys/Gals**

**ERMAGHAD IT'S FINALLY HERE!**

**I'm really sorry it took so long, but between uni and the girlfriend coming back from overseas and just plain not feeling like writing this chapter it managed to take me a month... which I know is bullshit and I hate when writers don't update for so long. Anyway hope you like the chapter :) I also want you guys to know that I've reread some of my earlier stuff and holy crap... no wonder I lose readers on the first two chapters. They sucked, so anyway I will go back and change some of that, to make it a) easier to read. and b) clear up some of the shit people seem to question, like I'm changing it to Kakashi knowing all along, because it makes sense, and I'm going to add the scene where Hiruzen explains how he must keep his name underwraps for the most part. Nothing really that changes the main flow of the story but just stuff that makes more sense and doesn't leave people with a bad taste in their mouth. Anyway enough about previous chapters and on to this one! YAY sorry for the rant :)**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Sad Face.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 14: Taken**

* * *

Jiraiya could only marvel at the sights around him. _Travelling never gets old_ thought the Sannin as he strolled in through the gates of the Village Hidden in the Clouds _too bad I'm not here to bring better news._

Now any normal person might be impressed by the village; the way it was built into the mountains, the sheer drops, and the epic views it had to offer. However with Jiraiya everything was a different story.

_Man I keep forgetting how sexy the women here are; I wonder where the nearest hot spring is hehehe._ The ANBU that were tailing him for the security of the village saw a small amount of blood was trickling from his nose, it was a nosebleed that they all understood once they worked out where he was headed.

Needless to say it wasn't in the direction of the Raikage's office.

(Konoha – Naruto and Konohamaru – Later that day, two weeks into the mentoring program)

"So nii-chan, when are you gonna teach me that cool rasengan move?"

"When you can create enough proper shadow clones, now shut it. I'm trying to enjoy my ramen," Naruto said as he shoveled the delicious food into his mouth, his shorter than usual training session with Konohamaru now at an end.

He'd merely wanted to assess his student's growth this afternoon, and frankly Konohamaru still sucked. He was better, but the kid still had a lot to work on. Naruto was hoping that if he could create enough clones he could improve faster in the next two weeks, it was either that or get smashed by Hanabi.

He hadn't heard much from Sakura about Hano, but he knew Hanabi was a threat. So Naruto had decided that Konohamaru needed to learn the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Both so he could get a leg up in training, and so he'd have a numbers advantage during the fight.

At first the boy could only create two clones. Which while good for his age wasn't going to help him greatly in the short term.

They'd been continuously training and trying to improve both his chakra control and his chakra reserves to improve the number but so far they'd only managed to push that number to three without completely exhausting him.

In the upcoming fight he would just have to hope the numbers could be used to overwhelm the girl.

"BUT BOSS!" Konohamaru really wanted to learn the rasengan.

"Konohamaru," Naruto said as he turned from his bowl and looked at the boy sitting in front of him.

"Yeah nii-chan?"

"You do realize that shadow clones are the reason I'm so strong right?" Naruto neglected to mention the insane chakra reserves and just focused on motivating the boy, "You do realize why I'm trying to improve your use with them?"

"Ummmm,"

"You weren't paying attention when I explained were you?"

The young boy blushed, "I was too excited about learning the Rasengan!"

Naruto almost ended up putting his face into his soup as he slammed his head against the bench.

"You're not going to make me run laps again are you? I need to train, we only have two weeks left." Konohamaru was embarrassed and worried about what his mentor would do for not listening.

"Hahaha, no not today, and I know, but you do realize that when you can create more shadow clones you train faster right? If you can even create four clones before the final week of training then you can get five weeks of training done in a week. That's one more week of training than you'd have been able to do anyway, plus you'll have the advantage of clones in your fight. I'll give us one more day of training to get your number up from three to four and then four clones or not we can start working on more of the other stuff to get you ready,"

Konohamaru's face had brightened through Naruto's little lecture on why shadow clones were great, almost regarding the blonde in front of him as a genius. Before long he couldn't contain his excitement and blurted out, "Like the Rasengan?"

"No," Naruto said, turning back to his food.

He deflated like an untied balloon.

"You don't have enough chakra control, you've got a lot to work on Konohamaru, and you'll get there eventually. Just not before your fight with Hanabi,"

"Awwww, okay, well you will teach it to me eventually right?"

"How much do you appreciate ramen?" Naruto said without looking back to the boy and eating his ramen.

"Uhhh heaps!" Konohamaru went to start on the bowl that he'd left untouched and two silently enjoyed their (read: Naruto's) favorite food.

Getting up and thanking Teuchi for the meal Naruto left the stall with Konohamaru in tow before he stopped at the sight of three people who had also frozen after noticing him.

_This is the brat who left Gaara broken, and Gaara said he was like him. But if that is the case why isn't he just as murderous? Maybe he is, and just hides it better._ Temari didn't know what to think of the ninja in front of her. If he really was as strong as Gaara said should she be afraid of him?

After a few seconds of staring at each other and Naruto putting his hand out to stop Konohamaru from doing or saying anything stupid someone finally spoke.

"Uzumaki," was all the sand ninja with the gourd on his back muttered.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "Gaara."

"I've been thinking a lot about what you said, about power through friendship,"

"And?" to be frank, Naruto just wanted the boy out of his village. If he'd changed his ways slightly then that was a bonus, but Naruto was looking forward to not seeing him for a long time.

"I still don't know,"

"Rightttt," Naruto wasn't even sure why Gaara had bothered talking if this was all he was going to say. He did notice however that Temari was sort of in the same situation as he was, keeping Kankuro from acting out.

When it looked like Gaara wasn't going to do anything but continue to stare at Naruto Temari spoke up, "We need to be going Gaara, we need to meet Baki so that we can get back to Sunagakure."

As wary as she was of the blonde she was glad Gaara was slightly more amiable, and not likely to kill her from making the simple suggestion to move along. Ever since the fight with Uzumaki he'd been different; it was obviously the boy's doing.

_Thank kami, _was all Naruto could think to himself,_ the sooner they leave the better._ But before Naruto could put them behind him the sand Jinchuuriki spoke up a final time.

"I will become stronger than you Naruto, I will prove my worth," Gaara said finally before he walked off and without saying another word the three sand ninja continued down the street in the opposite direction of Naruto and Konohamaru.

"Those stupid sand ninja," Konohamaru said when they were out of earshot, "Why didn't you beat them up nii-chan?"

"What would that have achieved Konohamaru? Hell. I just want to make you run laps for that comment,"

The young student shook his head animatedly, "please, no!"

"Hahahahaha. It's okay, you don't have to," Naruto laughed at the boy who looked a little less downcast, before he smacked him over the head, "but stop being an idiot and go home and train!"

"Awwwwww," the young boy complained rubbing his head as he walked home alone, the blonde gone in a flash.

xXx

(With Sakura and Hano – Training ground 13)

Sakura had been pleasantly surprised with the determination of the young boy she'd spent the last two weeks training.

She wasn't sure the mentoring program was supposed to be this serious and strenuous but in making a competition of it they didn't really have a choice. They either trained as hard as they could, or they lost.

Hano had no problems with the training. He was timid and sometimes unsure of himself, but once Sakura broke through that little barrier she found the boy was determined to do his best.

He was pushing himself to his limits every day and Sakura just had to wonder what it was that drove the boy.

They'd worked on a variety of skills, from taijutsu forms to chakra control and basic jutsu. He didn't really have any shinobi heritage and as a result his chakra reserves weren't the greatest. They were larger than Sakura's at that age, but there wasn't much that could be said about that being a great thing.

Sakura was finding that while timid and shy normally, if you pushed him he was a fierce and determined fighter and frankly she saw a lot of potential in him. He just needed guidance, and that was what she was for.

They'd just finished a spar when the small boy collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"Hano, I think that's enough for today okay?" They'd been at it for a few hours now, and the sun was starting its descent in the sky.

"No," the small boy said as he pushed himself up from the ground, "We need to keep going,"

"Why? You need to rest Hano," Sakura said, she didn't need him dying of exhaustion in front of her.

"Because I need to get stronger, I need to show the bullies from the academy that I'm not useless,"

_So there is a reason for his behavior. It would explain why he is always so timid when he isn't training _Sakura thought to herself as she looked at the small boy standing weakly in front of her.

"Who bullies you Hano?" Sakura wanted to help her student. Maybe if she knew whom the problem resided with she could help sort it out.

"It doesn't matter," the small boy said, wiping the sweat from his face. Sakura wasn't sure if there were tears there too.

_If he doesn't want to talk about it yet I really shouldn't push the matter. I guess I'll just have to keep training him for now, maybe he'll tell me more later._

The girl sighed, "Okay Hano, we can do a bit more training, but not physical training. Come here and I'll teach you about genjutsu, it's one of my strengths. Maybe you'll be good at it too," she figured the kid had the intellect for the art; it just wouldn't be any use against Hanabi if she was good enough with the Byakugan.

The small boy's eyes widened at the prospect of learning more advanced genjutsu from his mentor and quickly came over to sit in front of her as she started going over the basics of the art.

xXx

(With Karin and Yuugao – Namikaze compound)

The ANBU grunted as she moved to deflect the heavy blow of Samehada, her sword and the large sentient weapon clashing for a brief moment as she redirected the crushing attack.

Yuugao had to admit that Karin was a quick learner. The girl was a natural. She was picking up kenjutsu faster than she'd expected and whatever technique she was using to wield the massive sword was ridiculous. She seemed to be getting more competent with its use every day.

What Yuugao didn't know was that Karin was working herself and a number of clones into the ground whenever she had the time.

Yuugao, went to make a counter strike against the girl but the sword shifted unnaturally, blocking the attack and allowing the small girl to get into a position that would let her punch the ANBU with her free right hand while her guard was down.

Her purple haired teacher wasn't to be taken lightly though. She quickly dropped the sword she was using, in turn putting Karin off balance due to a lack of resistance against Samehada as the blade began falling through the air.

This allowed the ANBU to deflect the punch with her left hand while retrieving the other sword she had strapped to the left side of her waist with her right. This was the sword she normally carried on her back. She always moved it to her waist before a fight, as it was next to impossible to draw otherwise.

Spinning during the motion she dropped down, catching the blade she'd just let go of with her left hand in a backhand grip and flipping it so that the flat side of the katana was turned toward her student.

Using this she swept the legs out from underneath the girl while deftly disarming her with the sword in her right hand as she fell through the air, sending Samehada spinning from her hand and landing on the ground a few feet away.

She jumped on top of the girl with her sword at her throat ready to proclaim her victory before realizing the girl was unconscious. The woman was worried for a second but Karin was just asleep, probably passing out from exhaustion once she hit the ground. Her movements had looked pretty strained.

Looking over to the large sword she could see it squirming on the ground. It really was one of the strangest things she'd ever dealt with. She knew not to pick it up though. For some reason it would only respond to Karin, and now Naruto.

A short while after it first rejected the blonde, with some coaxing from Karin, Samehada had started letting the boy pick it up again.

It still by all means preferred being handled by Karin and they had a theory about why, but Naruto could at least pick it up and move it now.

After wanting to improve her use of ninjutsu they'd tested the girls chakra affinity and it happened to be water. Unfortunately they didn't know anyone that could teach Karin the basics of water ninjutsu that was readily available so the girl was stuck with learning kenjutsu most of the time.

While Naruto had larger reserves they figured Samehada just preferred the taste of chakra from someone with a water affinity rather than a wind affinity. Karin also had a theory about the fox chakra not tasting so good, seeing as how she despised the feel of it when it was released, but there was nothing to suggest whether that was true or not.

Another thing that Yuugao found interesting about the sword was that while it preferred Karin's chakra, it wasn't against feasting on Naruto's the few times when Karin wasn't able to feed it.

So Yuugao stood there, not sure what to do. She didn't want to leave Karin outside. But she also didn't want to leave the sword alone, not being able to pick it up. Her predicament was resolved when Naruto came walking out of the house.

"Is she okay?" he said with a slightly worried expression.

"Yeah, she's just sleeping I think, she's been training pretty hard lately."

"Okay, well I guess you're finished for the day then?" Naruto said causing the ANBU to nod in response.

"Right well I'll look after her and Samehada now that I'm home, should she expect you the same time tomorrow?"

"Yes," the ANBU had organized the next few days so that she'd be free to train the girl; the Hokage didn't have anything that needed to be done urgently. Even if she was just a girl Yuugao enjoyed clashing with the user of a legendary blade when she knew they weren't out for her head.

"Cool, do you want anything to eat or drink?" Naruto said picking up Samehada and his girlfriend.

"Thankyou, but no, I should be going," She had other minor duties to attend to and as grateful as she was for the offer it was about time she left.

"No problem," Naruto said with a smile as the woman disappeared in a swirl of leaves and he flashed inside, setting his girlfriend on the couch while giving the sword some chakra to satiate it.

xXx

"Hey Baa-chan!" Naruto called out a short while later as he sparred with a number of clones.

The two medic nin in the form of Tsunade and Shizune were making their way home from a massive shift and it was clear Tsunade wasn't even in the mood to get angry at the boy. She just grunted in acknowledgement to let him know she'd heard him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Does it look like I'm even in the mood right now brat?" Tsunade would have punched him if she could be bothered.

"Well if you answer my question I'll jump you inside. Save you the rest of the walk?"

He could see Tsunade contemplate the proposal as she sized up the rest of the march to the house. Naruto already knew what her answer would be before she sighed in resignation.

"Fine kid what is it?"

"Ero-sennin said you were an Uzumaki, is that really true, I never really got to asking."

"Officially kid I'm part of the Senju clan, but yes I'm the granddaughter of Mito Uzumaki, so I'm probably related to you somehow, as much as that irks me. Now get us inside, I'll tell you more after I sleep if I feel like it."

With a flash the two women were saved the rest of the walk and collapsed in the living room.

xXx

(With Sasuke and Hanabi – Training Ground 21)

The small girl stood exhausted from the sparring session she'd just endured. This was nothing like the training sessions with her father, and she was loving it. While Hiashi was stern and worked her daughter as hard as he could, training with Sasuke was completely different.

She'd been learning so many different things from the Uchiha. One thing she'd learnt though was that fighting someone with the sharingan was beyond frustrating.

She couldn't land a single hit on him. And sometimes she'd go through a whole fight before realizing she'd been put under a genjutsu. She'd get so riled up and excited against the Uchiha that she wouldn't notice the subtle chakra changes with her Byakugan. It just further emphasized the importance of her training with her mentor.

Not only was she learning different forms of taijutsu he was teaching her some rudimentary ninjutsu and ninja techniques that the academy hadn't gotten around to teaching yet. She was excited for her fight with Konohamaru, ready to show off the skills she'd been developing with Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke, while annoyed he'd gotten the self entitled brat as a mentee was kind of glad that was the case now.

Her doujutsu was something he might be able to help her train with while if he could get rid of the elitist attitude he knew he had when he was at that age she could really become a great ninja.

He just had to do a better job than Naruto and Sakura. From everything his friend was saying Hano wasn't as useless as Hanabi had been saying he was. The fight between the three of them was going to be interesting.

"Okay," Sasuke said as he walked over to the girl, tussling her hair as her byakugan faded and he deactivated his sharingan, "good work today, now I'm starving, seriously lets go get some food."

As much as Hanabi hadn't been happy about her mentor at the start, he'd been growing on her. He was really teaching her, even if she hadn't made the greatest first impression. It made her wonder whether what he said when they first met was true.

Surely she was just naturally stronger than Konohamaru and Hano right? She was the heiress of a clan after all. But the more time Sasuke spent mentoring her the more she began to doubt that train of thought. She wasn't going to underestimate them. She wasn't going to lose.

Saskue and the small Hyuuga walked towards the edge of the training field, before they were cut off by a strange ninja. The pale ninja had dark grey hair that stretched down over his face and covered his right eye. He was also wearing a light brown tunic with long black wristbands and a purple rope tied around his waist above a pair of black skin-tight shorts.

Sasuke was immediately put on guard. He didn't recognize the ninja and although they weren't wearing a headband. He knew they weren't from Konoha.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan while putting a hand out protectively to Hanabi.

"Just someone who has something to offer you,"

"Yeah? And what would that be?" Sasuke needed to find out what this strange shinobi was doing in Konoha.

"Power, power beyond your wildest dreams. We can take you to someone with the ability to give you the strength to defeat your brother," in saying that the shinobi shifted his head, and the hair covering his forehead moved just slightly.

With his Sharingan activated Sasuke caught sight of something, a seal, and it looked eerily familiar to the one that he had stuck on his shoulder.

So this ninja worked for Orochimaru, he should have guessed the creep would make another play at him.

"Tell Orochimaru I said no, I have all the power I need available to me right here in this village, I don't need that creep's help," Sasuke said, pushing Hanabi behind him, not wanting her to be involved, and getting himself into a fighting stance.

"You can tell him yourself, because you don't have a choice. You're coming with me now," the shinobi said, appearing to get ready to fight, "I didn't want to have to do this, but if you're going to be difficult, then I have no choice but to put a piece of trash like yourself in your place."

_This is only one guy, I can take him. I don't need to bother Naruto with this now. _Sasuke thought to himself. As much as he'd changed he was still prideful. Besides this guy didn't look to tough. W_hat would Hanabi think if I had to call on Naruto to deal with this pest?_

"Fine, bring it on," Sasuke said before he heard the sound of someone collapsing.

Quickly turning around he saw Hanabi unconscious on the ground, and before he could do anything he caught the sound of an eerie tune drifting through the training ground. His limbs grew heavy, his movements sluggish.

"Wh-What are you doing to me?" He didn't have long to ponder before he was knocked unconscious by a large ninja who had emerged from the cover of the trees.

"Well that was easy," Sakon said to Jirobo, "I don't see what Orochimaru sees in this trash," he muttered as Tayuya and Kidomaro jumped into the clearing, quickly binding both Sasuke and Hanabi tightly.

"He has the Sharingan you fucking idiot," Tayuya said as if it were obvious, because it was.

Sakon just grunted before searching the Uchiha for signs of any markings. Orochimaru-sama had warned them not to take any chances, they needed to make sure Sasuke couldn't be rescued and that any seals or markings needed to be destroyed or sealed away so as to be useless.

It wasn't long before he found two seals on the inside of the boy's right arm hidden underneath a bracer. Laying the unconscious Uchiha down he started preparing a large array on the ground with Sasuke's arm and consequently the two seals in the center.

After ten minutes of frantic drawing the array was complete and Sakon applied the necessary activation chakra, while the others kept a look out. Strangely however only one of the seals pulsed and disappeared.

Now Sakon was pissed. They had been there too long already and they really needed to get away before anyone noticed, but Orochimaru had specifically said not to go anywhere with Sasuke if there was any seal on him that wasn't the cursed seal of heaven.

"Shit," the leader of the sound four cursed as he stared down at the seal. He'd used the strongest sealing method he could and it hadn't done a thing. Whoever designed that seal was a master and the safeguards in it were ridiculous.

"What is it?" Tayuya asked as she jumped over to assess the situation and noticed one seal still sitting on the black haired boy's arm, "Oh what have you fucked up this time?"

"Shut-up slut, it's a complex seal, I can't get rid of it. Not without cutting off his arm," Sakon said as he pulled out a blade and prepared to start sawing through the boys arm.

"STOP IT!" Tayuya said as loudly as she could without drawing attention to the area.

"How else are we going to get this seal off him?"

"Yeah but do you think Orochimaru-sama wants a disabled host?"

Sakon sat thinking about what to do, starting to sweat before Kidomaru jumped in, "Tayuya get back to keeping a look out, I'll handle this."

As Tayuya jumped away cursing about being stuck with a bunch of idiots Kidomaru quickly produced a golden blade from his mouth.

"What do you plan to do with that?" Sakon was wondering exactly what his teammate was up to.

"This blade is sharper than yours, now keep him quiet and pin him down, he might wake up. The level of difficulty of this wouldn't be as high if I wasn't worried about permanently injuring his muscles."

Sakon was still skeptical about what it was that Kidomaru was planning but held the Uchiha down as his comrade went to work on the boy's arm.

Sasuke's eyes shot open as pain rocketed up his limb. He tried screaming but there was the same strange ninja from before sitting on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He couldn't overpower him and it was terrifying as searing pain shot up from his right forearm.

The struggle only lasted a few seconds before he passed out from a combination of the pain and the blow to the head he'd suffered earlier.

When Kidomaru was finished he was holding a piece of flesh up that was roughly the size of the seal, "That should do it, I had to cut a little deeper than I thought to remove the tenketsu beneath the seal as a precaution but it was better than taking off the whole limb, now bandage his arm and let's get out of here," he casually tossed the flesh containing the seal to the ground.

"Good, bring the girl, we might need her for leverage." Sakon said as they went to move out, glad that they'd managed to deal with both of the seals.

"Jirobo, stop eating you fucking fat shit, let's go!" Tayuya called out to the large shinobi, who was about to start on his third snack.

Kidomaru picked up the young girl, while Jirobo picked up their target and the shinobi quickly made their way to the edge of the village.

xXx

(Somewhere in the Land of Rice Paddies)

"Orochimaru-sama, it's been just over a week since the Sound four departed, given how quickly we got back, and their rate of travel they should be arriving in Konoha soon,"

"What about Kimimaro?" the snake Sannin asked his second in command.

"Given that he disappeared from his bed almost four days ago he should meet up with them soon; he travels much faster alone than they do together."

"Kukukuku. Yessss, soon Sasuke-kun will be mine. Why Kimimaro, you will still be useful to me even in your final moments," Orochimaru said mostly to himself.

"Do you really think that Sakon will be able to block or disable the Hiriashin no jutsu seal?"

"Kukukuku, well we will no doubt find out if they were competent enough to deal with it," The Sannin said to the spy strolling along next to him as they continued through the gloomy underground base that was for now their home.

xXx

Karin wasn't unconscious for very long, but the fact that she'd passed out at all just meant that she needed to train harder and increase her reserves.

She looked over to the kitchen to find Shizune and Tsunade both sitting at the table eating and drinking.

Getting up she did a quick search with her Minds Eye in order to find Naruto, who she found training in the compound. A quick look out the window showed the sun resting low in the sky.

Expanding the reach of her technique she decided to check on what Sakura and Sasuke were up to with their mentees.

Sakura and Hano were currently sitting in a training ground together, Karin could just make out them doing slight chakra control exercises. She pushed the field of her technique to maximum to try and pick up Sasuke and Hanabi and just managed to catch him in the edges of her technique.

What shocked her though was the four ninja in close proximity with her friend.

How could they be in Konoha? What were they doing with Sasuke? These were just a few of the thoughts running through her head as she started into panic mode.

_No, I have to stay calm, _she thought as she started breathing more heavily, _If I panic I can't help them._ She could feel a small chakra signature along with Sasuke's and they both seemed to be unconscious. It must be his mentee, meaning they were jumped during training.

"Tsunade, Shizune, we have a problem," Karin said with a worried look, as she pumped chakra into the seal on her arm as fast as she could.

Naruto appeared seconds later, by which time Tsunade had spoken, "What is it Karin?" concern on the face of Sannin, knowing she wouldn't call Naruto like that if it wasn't something troubling.

"Yeah is everything okay Karin-chan?"

"No, Sasuke and Hanabi have been taken by Orochimaru's bodyguards," the girl said to the three people present.

A shocked look crossed Shizune's face before turning into worry. Tsunade's turned straight to anger as the glass in her hand exploded from the pressure the woman applied to it.

Naruto didn't seem too troubled, "It's fine I'll just go get him," the boy said calmly before disappearing. Losing his head wasn't going to get them anywhere when he could just retrieve his friend and then plan a counterattack.

The three of them stood waiting before Karin muttered an "Uh-oh," having felt a massive disturbance of chakra. Before Tsunade and Shizune could question her the blonde had reappeared, only this time his eyes were red and he was shaking with anger.

He dropped what looked to be a piece of flesh onto the table that was adorned with a seal that all of them were now familiar with.

"What do we do?" he said in a gravelly voice laden with anger.

"We go to the Hokage, right now. Karin can you still sense them?"

The girl was silent for a second, "I can just barely feel them, they'll be out of my range soon, but I know what direction they're headed."

"Good, we can still follow them, Naruto, Hokage's Office, now."

But before he grabbed them and disappeared he was already gone. He knew of one person that would be more worried about Sasuke than he was. And he wasn't leaving her out of the loop.

xXx

Sakura was surprised that Naruto would just appear next to her at this time in the afternoon.

"You better have a good reason for interrupting my training session Nar-," She shut up when she saw the red flickering in and out of his eyes.

"It's Sasuke Sakura. Orochimaru's taken him."

"Hano," Sakura said sternly as she spoke to her student, "Go home, now. Run. I have to go," She tried to be as resolute as possible, but the fear was visible in her eyes.

The confused boy knew when his mentor was being serious but he'd never see her like this. He got up and bolted home as Naruto grabbed Sakura and the two left him alone.

xXx

"Hokage-sama now that we've come to an agreement, I'm glad to comment on the progress Hanabi is seeing in this new mentoring program. Sasuke Uchiha seems to know what he is doing in teaching her, although I still think the contact hours should be toned down a little, as she is getting less time to train with me.

Hanabi however seems to be enjoying the change and although I'm not happy with some of the beliefs he's expressed to my daughter, I believe she won't be corrup-" the stern head of clan Hyuuga was interrupted by the appearance of five people as they all materialized out of thin air.

"What is the meaning of this Naruto? Tsunade?" the Hokage enquired when he realized whom the group was comprised of. Naruto, Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune and Karin all stood before him, Hiashi looking shocked at how their meeting was interrupted.

"It's Orochimaru, sensei," was all Tsunade had to say.

The old Hokage sighed, looking visibly exhausted at the prospect of having to deal with Orochimaru once again.

"I'm sorry Hiashi, I'm going to have to deal with this, you are dismissed,"

"Actually Hokage-sama he should probably stay," Karin said stepping forward, the large bandaged sword Samehada in a holster across her back. With the sword as large as it was on her it was awkward for her to move indoors with other people around. Naruto might have laughed at the scene if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation.

The two men both looked at her with eyebrows raised, stern looks on their faces; fear flashed briefly in the eyes of the Hyuuga clan head.

"Orochimaru's bodyguards, the sound four, have taken Sasuke and Hanabi and are currently exiting the village. We were coming here to -,"

"SHINTEN!" Hiashi yelled to his bodyguard, who immediately entered the room, "Fetch NEJI NOW!" the black haired, white eyed branch member disappeared in a shunshin as Hiashi tried his best to compose himself.

"We were coming here to report the situation before chasing them." Naruto said, continuing on from Karin after the interruption.

"There's nothing I can say that will stop you from following them is there Naruto?" the Hokage said from his position behind the desk, looking the blonde boy directly in the eyes, and being startled at seeing the red of the of Kyuubi.

"No," the blond replied without hesitation.

"Very well, you can give chase, but I would like to know how you knew what was happening Karin."

Karin didn't see the point in arguing, it would only waste time, "I have a sensory technique called the Minds Eye of Kagura,"

"And what's the range of the technique if you could sense them leave the village, can you still sense them?"

"It's about 8-9 kilometers at the moment," The Hokage had to hide his shock. A technique like that was incredible; he now knew why Orochimaru had bothered with this girl. Hiashi was also surprised. If it was true then that technique's power dwarfed the sensory ability of the Byakugan. Sensing chakra up to 8 kilometers away was a super human feat in and of itself, "and no, from here I can't, they were leaving quickly."

"Very well, I'd like to discuss this technique further in the future, but for now –,"

The wizened old man was interrupted again as Neji and Shinten burst into the room.

"Hokage-sama, I'd like to request the presence of Neji and myself on this retrieval team for the sake of my daughter," Hiashi said once the two Hyuugas had come to a stand still.

"Very well Hiashi, I'm against having the head of a clan embark on a mission such as this, but this is your daughter, and I doubt there is much I can do to stop you. Go, while you can still find them and good luck," the Hokage said as Naruto created enough clones for everyone and turned to Karin.

"What direction?"

She silently raised a finger in the direction she'd last felt the enemy shinobi and they disappeared.

xXx

It wasn't long before an expected knock came at the door of the Hokage's office, and without waiting for a reply it swung inward as someone crossed the threshold.

The man who entered the room had a right eye covered in bandages that wrapped around his head, a cloak that extended from his right shoulder to his feet and a cane in his left hand that tapped the ground with each step he took.

"I was expecting you," Hiruzen said from his table, not wanting to be too aggressive with his old friend. He'd stand his ground and enforce his rank if necessary but there was no need to cause any more problems then he needed to.

"Then you know the reason of my visit, there have been reports of Naruto leaving the village," Danzou said, quietly angry that the Jinchuuriki who he deemed both useful and dangerous was no longer in the village, "The elders and the rest of the council agreed that Naruto was to be kept in the village."

"I know," Hiruzen said, "but how much do you know of the situation,"

"Only that you've once again let a shinobi who could become an incredible threat to Konoha or incredible asset leave the village," Danzou would not have Hiruzen ruin his plans for one of the shinobi who had shown such promise in the chunin exams, but who was also shrouded in the most intrigue.

He knew all the secrets of Konoha and he knew the threat of a rogue Jinchuuriki. Rogue Jinchuuriki had the power to destroy villages and that was the last thing he wanted.

But if Naruto was so close with Sasuke and the boy were to find out certain things about the very murky past of the village everything could easily spiral out of control.

"This is not some game Danzou and the situation is not to be taken lightly,"

"That's funny," the man with shaggy black hair said, "I was just about to say the same to-,"

"This isn't the time for smart remarks," Hiruzen said, cutting off the man sharply, "There has once again been a security breach. Some major enquiries are going to have to be done but for now that is not the issue. The issue is that Sasuke was taken by Orochimaru and Naruto and the others have gone to get him back. I'm sorry if that inconveniences your grand plan," Hiruzen finished sarcastically, starting to get fed up with his old friend.

The surprise was evident in Danzou's eyes as he stood comprehending the situation. Of course he was only put off for a fraction of a second before he collected himself, "This is why they must be protected within the village," the man said, trying to swing Hiruzen's point of view while the situation permitted.

"No, staying in the village doesn't seem to have worked out exactly as planned and I'll also have you know that you won't be able to keep them under wraps for long. The only person those boys will stand down for are those closest to them."

_I feared that would be case, _Danzou thought to himself as he grunted to acknowledge he understood the situation and began to leave, "You know this will not stand,"

"I'll not have those boys held back because of some plans you and the elders have for them,"

_I know you won't, and that is why I will act. I need to get one of them under my control before things get too unstable._

As Danzou exited the building and walked down the street no one noticed the order he gave one of his ANBU ROOT operatives to put a squad together and pursue the retrieval team. He had to keep an eye on two of the most interesting pieces to enter the playing field in years.

xXx

(Somewhere in the Land of Fire – A few hours later)

"Sakon! We can't you fucking idiot! What if he dies? Orochimaru-sama will kill us!" Tayuya liked pleasing Orochimaru-sama, but she also preferred being alive.

"If he dies then he obviously wasn't worthy of the seal or being the host of Orochimaru-sama,"

"Jirobo, back me up here, we can't force the second level seal transformation on him if he doesn't want it. It's not exactly the safest procedure! I don't care much for the trash but I'd rather not incur the wrath of Orochimaru-sama. First you want to cut his arm off and now this, do you want Orochimaru-sama to skin us all alive?" Tayuya didn't get a response from the big ninja who was simply eating, "Fine, fucking fatso, I shouldn't have asked for your help in the first place."

"I'm the leader, and I say that we put him through the process," Sakon was surefooted in his stance on the situation and wasn't going to be deterred by the likes of Tayuya.

After they'd escaped from the village, they'd made good progress towards the border and now that they were far enough out from Konoha Sakon had decided that he was going to bring back an enhanced Sasuke or no Sasuke at all.

Frankly the ninja wanted the brat to die. To prove that such a weak shinobi was not worthy of Orochimaru-sama's blessing. Orochimaru-sama would surely see that Sasuke wasn't worthy if he couldn't survive the transformation.

But before Sakon even had the chance to put the unconscious Sasuke in the sealing container Kidomaru, the only one of them bothering with lookout duty, spoke up.

"That will have to wait Sakon, we have visitors," Kidomaru said calmly, getting the attention of the three ninja around him. As silence fell they could all hear the light ringing of a small bell, the likes of which was attached to a number of strands of ninja wire within the woods surrounding them.

xXx

Karin winced when the light noise echoed through the woods. She was still getting used to the dimensions of her weapon and what it was like to move around with it.

It was just unfortunate that the handle of the blade had nicked a strand of ninja wire as the group of seven shinobi had advanced on the four strange ninja that were situated around an unconscious Sasuke and Hanabi.

Fortunately with the use of Naruto's Hiraishin they were able to get to the edge of the village fast enough that after a short while they'd been able to pick up their signatures. Then it'd had simply been a matter of moving faster than they were. None of them had really wanted to talk much; they all had one thing on their minds. Getting those close to them back.

Karin had explained as much as she knew about the sound four to the rest of them. While personally she'd never really had much to do with them she knew they were the bodyguards of Orochimaru and that they were all powerful in their own right.

She'd informed them as much as she could of their abilities and warned them of Sakon's hidden passenger, whom she could feel easily with her technique. Even with the challenge ahead of them though she was just glad she couldn't sense Kimimaro.

The strange ninja that appeared to be in charge spoke up as the retrieval team sat frozen, hiding amongst the trees hoping they hadn't been detected, "Show yourselves now, or I kill the girl."

Sakon was pleased that they'd taken the girl with them now. It might have slowed them slightly, but it meant they had a hostage. He picked her up and held a kunai to her neck, reinforcing his threat.

Tsunade sighed and nodded, signaling that they didn't really have much of a choice. Not that it was really up to her, Hiashi was already moving into the open along with Neji. It wasn't long until the rest of them followed, landing in front of the four ninja. So much for the element of surprise.

"What? This is all Konoha send? An old man, two women and four kids?" Sakon said confidently.

He obviously didn't know who most of them were, or he would have been afraid, although he had been warned by Orochimaru-sama about the blonde kid; surely his master was exaggerating. Apart from having a sense of style the kid didn't seem special at all. Sakon made a note to take the cloak from the boy's corpse.

He recognized Karin though and knew what she'd done, that backstabbing little slut. If he could he'd make sure she suffered a painful death. He didn't know where she'd gotten that sword from but if he remembered correctly just over a nine weeks ago she was a useless fighter. So she wasn't exactly a threat either.

Sakon was snapped from his thoughts when Hiashi spoke up, "Hurt her, and your chance of leaving here alive becomes zero," he said coolly, trying to mask the worry he was feeling for the safety of his daughter; held with a kunai to her neck.

"Hahahaha, what happens if my hand just slips?" Sakon said sadistically, moving the blade along the girl's neck.

"Jirobo, get ready to leave," he said to the larger shinobi, prompting him to pick up the sealing vessel and then Sasuke, before turning back to the seven Konoha shinobi, "follow us and I kill the girl,"

"Wait!" Naruto urged, "What do you even want with Sasuke?"

"Like I have to explain Orochimaru-sama's plans to scum like you," Sakon said, stopping the four from leaving in order to reply.

"Oh I didn't really want to hear about it, I just needed enough time to do this," Naruto smiled a wicked smile as two Hiraishin kunai burst from the surrounding woods. The clones that threw them appearing next to them as they passed their intended targets.

Within a second the four ninja had lost all leverage as the clones grabbed Sasuke and Hanabi and disappeared, reappearing next to Sakura and putting them down next to Shizune to check on them. They noticed that a bloody bandage was wrapped around the boy's forearm.

"What were you saying about leaving?" Naruto said smugly as the four-shocked shinobi stood watching them. Sakon had gone red in the face at being shown up so easily.

"I swear to kami, I am going to destroy you if it's the last thing I do you trash," Sakon said while Tayuya jumped back into the trees trying to get a better position for her jutsu.

"We outnumber you, what do you think you can do?" Karin said speaking up, while making sure to keep an eye on the female ninja as she moved through the woods.

"Shut up you traitorous bitch," Sakon said bitterly while Kidomaru silently reassessed their situation and Jirobo waited for instruction, "We are more powerful than you can imagine, we'll destroy you all and take Sasuke back for Orochimaru."

Karin was about to speak up but was cut off by Tsunade speaking to Hiashi, "Now that you're daughter is safe do you want to return to the village with her and let us handle this? Or would you rather remove these pests yourself?"

"Hey who are you calling pests bitch!?"

"They need to be taught a lesson, even if they won't be alive to learn from it when I'm finished," Hiashi said, ready to annihilate the four shinobi who would dare harm his daughter.

The four sound ninja were still trying to judge the shitstorm they now found themselves in when Sasuke started coming to.

"Hey teme, next time call for help dumbass," Naruto said with a cheeky grin as he looked over his shoulder at his unbound comrade.

"Yeah whatever, even if I wanted to the seal's gone," the black haired boy said, pointing to an un-bandaged spot higher on his forearm that was now blank, " but, they won't get the drop on me again,"

Had the seal been there it he would have been able to see at least half of it from underneath his bandaged, he had to wonder exactly just what they did to him.

"You really shouldn't be fighting Sasuke," Shizune said from her position next to Hanabi.

"I'll be fine," he said rolling out his shoulders and gingerly touching his arm, "Maybe you should get back to the village with Hanabi though,"

"… yes we should," Shizune said after realizing that she wasn't going to talk Sasuke out of the conflict even though the damage to his arm was significant, "that might be for the best, Naruto?"

With a flash they were gone and Naruto was back on the scene.

"Now where were we? So seven on five?" Sakon's eyes widened at them knowing about Ukon before his eyes darted murderously to Karin, "I don't like your odds," Tsunade said as she cracked out her knuckles and the rest of them stood along beside her, facing down the enemy shinobi.

"Who shoul-," Naruto started before being interrupted by his girlfriend.

"No no no no no," Karin said, her eyes wide, "He can't be. I thought he was sick?"

"What is it Karin?" Tsunade asked, a hard look in her eyes. They didn't need any complications.

"It's Kimimaro. He's easily stronger than any of these four and he's headed straight for us. I thought he was supposed to be dead!"

"How strong?" they had this under control for now but Tsunade didn't need any more rogue elements thrown into the mix.

"The only person I know stronger is Oroch-,"

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHA," now it was Sakon's time to laugh, while Kidomaru and Jirobo both grinned with delight at how the situation was turning out, "If Kimimaro is on his way then none of you stand a chance!"

Tsunade didn't need to split up the group, but if this Kimimaro was a serious threat then it might be better to do deal with him herself, it might even benefit her to bring Hiashi to finish the fight quickly. That would still leave five of the enemy shinobi, including the combatant supposedly hiding within Sakon, against the five children.

She'd just need to finish the fight and get back in time to help out if necessary.

"Okay Karin, what direction?" Tsunade asked, causing the girl to point towards the north-east, "Hiashi, I think you should come with me, the kids should be able to handle these guys, it's an even numbers game and the faster we get rid of this Kimimaro the sooner we can support them," the elderly Hyuuga hesistated before nodding, the two of them jumping into the forest; the sound four making no attempt to stop them.

Sasuke touched his arm gingerly, "This is going to scar badly you bastards, I'm going to make you pay for that,"

"Actually Sasuke, come here," Karin said with a thoughtful look on her face.

"You really think some run of the mill medical jutsu will fix this up?" Sasuke asked, skeptical that the missing chunk of his arm could be easily remedied.

"Since when have I ever been run of the mill!" Karin shouted while still moved to help him, "Now just bite me here," she said as she rolled up the sleeve of her top. With everything that had been going on Karin was still mostly wearing the same clothes she'd ventured to the village with, having not really had much of a chance to go shopping with her boyfriend.

"You want me to bite you? Dobe, what kind of kinky shit is your girlfriend into," Sasuke asked, as the rest of the group kept an eye on the sound four, who for the most part were just content to sit and watch, biding time for Kimimaro to deal with the two older shinobi when they confronted him.

"Sasuke, I'm about this far from not helping you with your arm, just bite enough to draw blood," she said threateningly. And so the boy bit her on the shoulder, and Sakura went red in the face. As much as she thought it would be painful, biting someone was still intimate and something that could be done in a fit of passion. And while they were now more intimate than they used to be when they were alone training they were no were near that intimate. She was kind of jealous of the red haired girl.

Almost instantly the effect of biting Karin was noticed as Sasuke pulled away and flexed his arm. The red head looked slightly exhausted but told him to pull off his bandage anyway. When he did so the group was surprised, because there was absolutely no mark remaining whatsoever. The wound was completely healed as if it never existed. And it would have been quite a serious wound.

"You better appreciate that," Karin said with a strained smile, "Because now I've got this scar forever. But I figured it would improve our chances of survival if you could actually use your arm properly."

"Thanks," Sasuke said with a genuine smile before turning his attention to the enemy shinobi.

"Well well well isn't this touching. I didn't think pieces of trash could get along so well," Sakon said with a smile, "but either way it doesn't really matter because you're all going to die here tonight, and we will have Sasuke,"

"I hardly think so," Karin said as she held Samehada in her hands and turned to Naruto, "Honey, mind filling me up?" she said to her boyfriend, resting the blade in his hands and smiling as the sword slowly grew until the bandages were stretch to their limits and a small row of teeth could be seen through gaps at the tip of the sword. It shrank again slightly as the girl drained some of the chakra into herself to refill the reserves she'd just lost, but overall the sword was larger and more menacing than previously.

"You think making that sword bigger will help you? That's even more pathetic than I expected bitch. We shouldn't even need our curse seals with those two going after Kimimaro." Sakon couldn't believe that Kimimaro had managed to make it all the way out here. They would have had a hard time of getting Sasuke back otherwise, but now this was going to be a piece of cake.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Naruto asked taunting them with an outstretched hand as Sasuke activated his Sharingan and flexed his hand while Neji activated his Byakugan ready for a fight, "or are you all bark and no bite?"

* * *

**DUN DUN DUNNN!**

**How betrayed would you all feel if I put in a filler/flashback arc just before all the fighting started. But yeah don't worry, I'm not working on the actual Naruto so that won't happen. **

**Anyway shits gun go down!**

**As for reviews, please read and review, I've been loving the extra reviews it's great! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, from short reviews to long ones thanks, it means a lot. Especially the long ones because hearing exactly what people like in my story is great :) But yeah thanks to everyone.**

**Also now you know why it prefers Karin. Just a quick explanation for those who might still not understand.**

**Yes Karin has less chakra than Naruto, but she still has a metric fuck tonne of chakra, so the sword is happy on that front. She has a special healing chakra that is freaking awesome and unique and she has a water affinity. These two things combined make her way more appealing to snack on than Naruto, who like many of you said must have a bitter taste due to the nasty fox chakra. His enlightened and pure chakra when he takes the chakra later on (in the manga i mean) would probably taste good, but as it is now he probably has a shitty aftertaste.**

**Anyway I think that's all I needed to say happy days people, happy days. Now to do some exercise and play some cod before I plan the next bit!**

**But seriously R and R. It makes me happy, and when I'm happy I churn out chapters for dayz.**

Update: 19/12/2012  
Sorry but I won't be updating any time soon, because a) it's Christmas and b) have just been broken up with so yeah, not in the mood to write and not sure when I'll be in the mood again. Sorry guys.


	15. 15: Rumble in the Jungle

**And after the long wait of a month I now present to you the next chapter! :)**

**Sorry about the massive wait, between christmas and everything going on in my life I've not really had the motivation to write. But I really didn't want to leave you guys waiting any longer than a month, so without further ado, here ya go!**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 15: Rumble in the Jungle**

* * *

The five Konoha shinobi stood in the clearing facing off against the three clearly visible sound nin while Tayuya skulked in the surrounding woods.

Even with Naruto's attempt to bait Sakon and his teammates into an attack nobody had moved. Looking over to his right Sasuke could see Naruto shaking with anticipation, or was that anger?

"So are we going to stand here all night? Or do you just want me to take you all back to Konoha for interrogation, it might save you the pain of losing outright," the blonde goaded again, a smile playing across his face. Yep, anticipation.

He wasn't going to take them back to Konoha, he was sure about that, there were too many innocent people around in many of his Hiraishin locations and he was sick of having stuff in his house broken. But he did want them to make the first move because he wanted to work out how strong these guys were, especially if they'd managed to take out Sasuke so easily.

"Bah! What makes you think you'd be able to get us back to Konoha so easily?" Sakon had been surprised by the pure speed the boy's clones had displayed, he loathed to admit it to himself but the blonde was definitely faster than he was.

"Actually," Kidomaru said from his position next to Sakon, "it might be that he can teleport to any marker he's placed previously. It would explain why Orochimaru-sama was so adamant about the removal of the seal on our target's arm and it would explain the kunai that he threw. Either way with speed like that the difficulty level of this match-up has increased somewhat. The odds are still in our favour however," The dark haired nin finished matter-of-factly.

Naruto went to speak, to once again try and force them to make a move. He was getting impatient and was about to go against his better judgment when he found that he couldn't open his mouth. He couldn't move a muscle. All he could do was listen to the light tune echoing through the trees.

His anger rose as his world started to fade to black, a single thought running through his head as a nightmare was set upon him.

_FUCKING GENJUTSU!_

xXx

As soon as the black haired sound ninja with multiple arms finished speaking Karin immediately felt the chakra around her change. Even the sword in her hand twitched as it felt its chakra start to be manipulated by the strange sounds coming from within the trees.

_No doubt Tayuya_'s _doing,_ the redhead thought to herself.

She quickly freed herself from the technique with the help of her sword and her near perfect chakra control so she could assess the situation. Looking to her right she found Sakura moving perfectly fine, obviously having been able to free herself once she felt the onset of the technique.

Sasuke was also free from the effects. It was Neji and Naruto she was worried about though. Both standing with glazed looks in their eyes, open to any attack that the enemy might make; they couldn't defend themselves.

xXx

Sasuke would be damned if he got caught in another one of those stupid sound genjutsu, and now that he was paying attention he noticed the subtle changes of chakra in the air with his Sharingan. One quick internal chakra manipulation later and he was free to counter any moves the sound four made.

Naruto didn't look so lucky. He really needed to work on dealing with genjutsu. It was getting ridiculous. As overly powerful as his friend's arsenal of techniques was his giant Achilles heel was that he was a sucker for genjutsu and even after he'd begun recognizing them he was still next to useless at escaping them.

Even with all the training Sakura and Sasuke had put in for him they still couldn't work out why he sucked so much at genjutsu.

Sasuke could hound him about that later though. What concerned the Uchiha was that Kidomaru was closing in on a similarly affected Neji.

Quickly blocking the advance of the strange multi-limbed nin with a heavy punch followed up by a low sweep of his leg, both of which were blocked and evaded, Sasuke jumped back, turning and touching two fingers to the Hyuuga's forehead and channeling enough chakra to break the boy from the jutsu.

"Thank you Sasuke-san," the Hyuuga said as he recovered and noticed what was going on.

Sizing up the combatant in front of his comrade, Neji could only wonder what would have happened if Sasuke hadn't been around to help him break free of the mind trap.

As Kidomaru bore down on the two of them the white-eyed genin turned to his comrade, "Go. It would seem that Naruto and Sakura are outnumbered if what Karin says about their leader is true, I'll handled this."

Neji knew that these ninja were no joke, if he could even the playing field by freeing up Sasuke to help Naruto then he would. But that wasn't the only reason behind his decision. After his humiliating defeat he needed to prove himself against an enemy, and now he had the perfect opportunity.

Before Sasuke could even protest Neji stepped past the Uchiha and engaged in a quick melee with Kidomaru. An engagement that the sound nin only barely escaped from uninjured.

_The gentle fist truly is an amazing style_, Sasuke thought as he watched Neji push his opponent back.

But Neji didn't let up, continuing his dogged pursuit with a flurry of strikes and forcing Kidomaru to retreat into the trees lest he fall victim to Konoha's most effective form of taijutsu.

The Hyuuga was risking his own life against a powerful shinobi in order to give the rest of them a more even fight. Sasuke could only wonder what had gotten into the boy since the last time they'd met. Maybe someone from his clan had given him a talking to after his fight in the finals?

xXx

(A few moments earlier)

Karin watched the kunai heading for her boyfriend in slow motion and she sure as hell wasn't going to let her future husband die in front of her. Luckily she had been standing next to him when the fight broke out.

Stepping forward and bringing up her bandaged blade she easily deflected the kunai only to find the large Jirobo bearing down on her with intent to kill. She had heard about his strength and as much as she knew she'd improved she wasn't exactly confident she could take a direct hit from the goliath of a man.

It turned out she didn't have to, as Sakura stepped in from the side and with one solid hit send the ninja flying across the battlefield.

Given the reprieve she needed she quickly broke Naruto from the genjutsu and turned to Sakura.

"You'll have to take care of the fat one," the pink haired girl nodded to acknowledge she understood, "assuming he can still walk after that hit. I'm going after that bitch with the flute to stop her from putting anyone under a genjutsu like that again. Look after my man!"

Karin did a quick scan while she had the chance and found the enemy kunoichi hiding off to their west. She wasn't letting that pink haired hussy get away.

"Okay, very funny, catch me in a genjutsu. Ha ha ha jokes over, now whose ass am I kicking?" Naruto said angrily once he'd gotten his bearings to find that Sakura was standing next to him and they were facing off Jirobo and Sakon.

Catching Naruto in a genjutsu was one of the only sure-fire ways to seriously piss him off, there were very few times he was fine with losing control of a situation.

"Well for a girl that was impressive, people normally have trouble even moving Jirobo," Sakon was actually surprised. That girl could pack a punch it would seem. By all means he wasn't worried, they had the cursed seals, but things were not going as easily as they should have been.

"Naruto, as much as I want to rip the throat out of that fucker over there for taking Sasuke I'll handle the fat sh-," she cut herself off when she noticed an enraged Jirobo now covered from head to toe in dark markings.

"You're JUST A PUNY GIRL!" the large ninja roared as he crossed the clearing with enhanced speed, "I'll make you pay for that!"

Sakon internally facepalmed; Jirobo was such a dumbass sometimes.

As Jirobo blurred toward Sakura, Sakon decided to take advantage of the distraction caused by his teammate's stupidity and engage the blonde.

He wasn't sure how he was going to combat his ability to seemingly teleport, assuming Kidomaru was right, but he had one idea in mind.

Activating the first level of his cursed seal he launched himself at Naruto.

The air whistled in protest of his movement before he brought a fist back and lashed out directly at his opponent.

Sakon was sure that his speed should have been enough to catch the boy off guard.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

The ground shook as his fist collided solidly with Naruto's arm, his initial attack easily blocked.

That couldn't be said about his secondary offensive though, as another arm emerged from the sound nin's forearm and lashed out at the unsuspecting and unprotected genin.

Naruto was about to flash away when he saw a flicker of black in his peripheral vision.

_Just in time, _the blonde grinned.

Sakon's attack was swiftly brought to a halt as the black haired genin grabbed what appeared to be his second arm.

"What kind of freak is this guy?" Sasuke said as he tried to work out what was going on with his Sharingan.

"I don't know teme, but how about we find out just how he works? Pull!" Naruto roared as he grabbed the arm he'd originally blocked. Sakon's eyes widened as Sasuke pulled in one direction and Naruto pulled in the other.

Ukon wasn't looking forward to what would happen when he was forcefully extracted from his brother's body, and rightfully so, as both of the Konoha genin launched them across the clearing each with a solid kick.

Sasuke just stared at the two ninja pulling themselves back off the ground, "So I guess he really was hiding someone. Anyway I thought you guys had some godly power. You seem to be getting your ass kicked if you ask me," the black haired boy said smugly.

Sakon was furious at having been separated from his brother so early in the fight. These genin were strong so it was better to separate than to see what would happen if they resisted. They didn't need any serious injuries like hyper-extended elbows or broken bones if they were going to complete the mission.

He should have known Karin would spill the beans on his Kekkai Genkai. These shinobi, even though were just kids were something else. They'd have to up the ante sooner or later. May as well be sooner.

"Hey brother," Sakon said with a sick twisted grin, "How about we raise the stakes a little. Show them who they're messing with?"

"Gladly," Ukon replied with a wide smile as he licked a small amount of blood from his lips, "I'm going to enjoy ripping them apart from the inside."

"Has anyone told you that you're both major creeps? Is that like a trend or something? Is it a requirement for becoming a sound nin? Even Orochimaru is a massive pedo, freaking giving me a hickey." Sasuke said, annoyed that they thought they even had a chance.

"SHUTUP TRASH! YOU KNOW NOTHING! OROCHIMARU-SAMA IS A GOD!" Sakon screamed in anger.

The two sound brothers roared as their bodies underwent the second level transformation, twisting and contorting, their physical appearance drastically changed.

They stood, their skin now red with a strange protrusion growing from each of their heads like a horn on the opposite side of the face to the others.

"I take back what I said, now you are both major creeps!"

"What the fuck happened to your faces!?" Naruto said once he'd overcome his initial shock.

"Why you insolent little shits!" Sakon screamed, sick of these brats and the fact they were still breathing.

"Now you'll see our true power, and we'll make sure you fear it before we end your pathetic lives," Ukon added in a creepy tone, trying to put the fear of god in their opponents.

Sasuke could only think that if this was what the true power he was offered looked like Orochimaru could jam it up his pedophilic ass.

_Actually he'd probably like that, _the black haired prodigy quickly shook his head of the thought and focused on the fight.

Naruto was thinking something entirely different as he looked around the battlefield, _Where the hell did Sakura go?_

xXx

Sakura couldn't say that she was enjoying the fight, if you could call it a fight. She had speed, that much was evident, and for good reason, she'd trained her ass off with Naruto to get this fast, but for some reason her monster of an opponent was keeping up.

After charging across the clearing Jirobo had proceeded to swat at the pink haired genin like she was simply a fly. Because to him that was all she was. An annoyance that he couldn't get rid of at this point in time.

She was confident in her abilities but she wasn't confident that she could take a direct hit from the shinobi. He was a monster of a man, and the cursed seal just further enhanced his powers.

With his enhanced speed and size she couldn't lay a finger on him in the open without risking getting pummeled and she knew that. Which was why she drew him into the trees; figuring she'd be able to land a hit on him if she could keep him encumbered.

And for a while she had the advantage in the thick woods, darting in amongst the trees, forcing the big ninja to change his momentum often in order to keep pace with her as she moved from cover to cover. She was almost ready to launch an offensive when in his rage Jirobo decided that he didn't like the trees.

So that's how Sakura found herself in the situation she was in, dashing madly through the trees in an attempt to escape the hulking shinobi while planting explosive tags behind her as her large combatant charged through the forest, destroying the foliage as he went.

The explosive tags weren't doing much, actually she hadn't heard one go off yet, when they should have. She turned to find that the large ninja was simply grabbing them as he charged through the trees and this simple act was rendering them useless. She also realized he was slowly gaining on her.

"YOU THINK SILLY LITTLE TAGS WILL WORK ON ME BITCH?"

Deciding that she'd rather not waste explosive tags she put more effort into pumping her legs and darting through the woods, trying to come up with a better solution to fighting the goliath of a ninja as he slowly gained on her.

xXx

"So you really did betray us you little slut," Tayuya's less than dulcet tones echoed through the woods, "Not that I would doubt the word of Orochimaru-sama but to see you in the flesh fighting for the enemy. Even I wouldn't stoop so low. You're nothing more than trash to me."

It hadn't been hard for Karin to find the strange flute player but fighting her was going to be a different story. Karin crouched on a branch as she sensed Tayuya moving in amongst the trees, no doubt trying to get a better angle on her.

"When someone tries to kill you and someone else shows you unconditional kindness and love it kind of adds a little perspective bitch!" Karin called back through the woods, "You should give up now, you can't run from me, and you can't hide,"

"No, I know that, to think we lost such a valuable ability," Tayuya called out, "but I don't need to hide when I can fight, and against a piece of trash like you it shouldn't be hard,"

"That's just what I was hoping you'd say," Karin said with a smile as she raised Samehada and moved toward the sound nin's location, "Because I have every advantage."

She couldn't say that she wasn't going to enjoy this fight. The adrenaline was pumping through her system and she had a bone to pick with this hussy, thinking she could come and try and take one of her friends away.

The way they all spent time together Sasuke was practically family and she'd be damned if she wouldn't punish Tayuya for trying to abduct him.

"Oh really? I don't like your chances trash," Tayuya's voice again echoed out from the trees surrounding Karin. She was doing her best to throw her voice and it would have worked, if Karin hadn't been one of the best sensors alive, "You wouldn't even have a chance against me. Let alone my precious doki. Your chances of surviving this are as bad as that dress is ugly. Wasn't that the piece of crap you used to wear all the time you ugly bitch?" Tayuya added, trying to psyche out her opponent. Needless to say with the red headed girl's short temper it worked.

Karin went as red in the face as her signature Uzumaki hair at being called out on her attire, "YOU BITCH. I DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT YOU TAKING SASUKE NOW. HOW DARE YOU MAKE FUN OF WHAT I WEAR! MY BOYFRIEND HASN'T TAKEN ME SHOPPING YET!"

"Oh and he never will," Tayuya said with a grin that Karin could clearly see with her technique, "because you've given me the time to bring out my toys you useless excuse for a ninja,"

Karin's eyes could only widen as she heard an eerie melody begin to play and felt three chakra constructs appear in the woods, moving in time with the music as they advanced on her position.

"Looks like we might have our work cut out for ourselves after all huh Sammy?" Karin said, looking down at her bandaged sword.

The blade quivered, whether in fear of the demons surrounding them, excitement at getting some action, or annoyance at the name she just wouldn't stop using she wasn't quite sure, but she could tell her weapon was ready.

xXx

"Do you really think they'll be able to handle themselves?" Hiashi asked as he powered through the woods alongside Tsunade, looking for any sign of trouble.

"I've seen them train. They can handle themselves, if what I heard happened to Neji in the exams is true you know that they'll be okay,"

"Yes, that was a rather strange outcome, people hadn't expected the village nuisance to have such power or such heritage," Tsunade glared at the Hyuuga's labeling of Naruto before he corrected himself, "Of course he isn't a nuisance anymore, not with power like that,"

Tsunade didn't really want to say anything more about the boy she was actually growing extremely fond of. He continued to remind her of Dan and Nawaki and while the memories were still painful she couldn't help but be cheered by the boy's attitude.

As they moved silently through the trees Tsunade could only wonder how powerful this ninja was. Karin was scared, and from what Tsunade had seen of Karin, she wasn't the type to scare easily.

Coming up on an open field Hiashi put a hand out to stop her as he landed deftly on a branch, byakugan active.

"He's approaching from across the field, we might be ab- ,"

"Whoever is there, do not try my patience, I am on a mission. Stand in my way and I will tear you asunder!" The pale, white haired shinobi in the purple robe called out as he came to a stop in the middle of the wide open space, "I do not have time to play games, I must fulfill my destiny,"

She might not have known why Karin was so afraid of this mystery ninja, but she had a feeling they were about to find out.

xXx

Sakura would have continued her head long charge into the woods, if she would have gained something from it.

Running wasn't achieving anything except tiring her out, she'd just have to fight him. She couldn't rely on Naruto or Sasuke to rescue her now, she had to eliminate this threat herself.

She had to prove that she deserved her jacket.

Quickly creating four bunshin, she allowed them to disperse through the trees, scattering and drawing the attention of the sound shinobi snapping at her heels.

All five Sakuras stopped on a different tree and turned towards the still enraged shinobi, beckoning him forward with a grin. If she could keep him angry her deception would be more likely to succeed.

Jiribo came to a halt, taking in the view, anger playing across his face. He was still sore from the hit he took earlier and this bitch was going to pay.

Launching himself from the tree branch that he'd stopped on in a blur he quickly proceeded to plow through each Sakura until only one remained.

"I've got you now you pink haired slut," Jirobo said with a smile, not bothering to take notice of the fact that she wasn't making any effort to get out of the way.

The final Sakura faded away as a fist passed through her head.

"What! Where did you go!?" Jirobo roared.

The sound ninja wasn't going to let that bitch get away with punching him square in the face. He needed to calm down, he needed to focus if he was going to find her.

Once he did, he noticed a small amount of foreign chakra entering his system.

Meanwhile Sakura was sitting in the canopy of leaves above the large shinobi wondering why he wasn't falling prey to her technique. Her genjutsu should have taken affect; he should have been rendered immobile.

"BAHAHAHA," he roared out, "You really think genjutsu is going to work on me trash? I'm above that simple art. You can't manipulate my chakra when I just absorb all of yours before it can do anything to me! Hahahaha! But thanks for the snack," The small amount of chakra she'd extended toward him wasn't much energy wise, but it meant that she was still near, and that he could still crush her.

"I will find you. And I will crush you little girl," he said as he looked into the trees, eagerly searching for his opponent.

_Fuck, if I can't subdue him with genjutsu I need another way to outsmart him. If he can absorb chakra I was lucky enough to land that chakra reinforced hit at the start of the fight. _

_He might have been able to absorb the chakra if he saw it coming and my attack would have done nothing, but it would seem he needs to make a conscious effort, so a surprise attack could work to my advantage. I need to misdirect him. I need his attention focused on another danger._

Sakura knew she didn't have much time before he started knocking trees down in an effort to find her but she knew that with his ability to absorb chakra she might only get one more lucky hit off before he realizes that he has to absorb chakra whenever she makes contact. She had to make the hit count.

xXx

Tayuya thought that she had the fight in the bag, maneuvering each of the Doki toward her former comrade.

Karin wasn't really worried yet; just curious as to what kind of challenge these creatures would present.

Her primary objective was to prevent Tayuya from playing her genjutsu, because if any of that blasted song got over to where Naruto was it could very well get him killed.

It seemed though that as long as Tayuya was controlling the monsters she'd summoned she wouldn't be able to play anything of the sort.

She couldn't help but stare at the bizarre creatures as they advanced towards her position, preparing to assault her from three different angles. They were massive! At least over three times her height and they looked incredibly strong.

They all seemed blind and their mouths were sewn shut but each of them possessed a different arsenal. She had no doubt that they all presented their own dangers.

The first attack came from the front, from the demon with long hair wielding a large steel club.

Karin knew that even her strength technique might not be a match against a creature so huge, so rather than directly block the downward strike of the monster she stepped slightly to the side, raising her blade.

The steel weapon collided with her bandaged blade in such a way that it was deflected, Samehada used almost as if it were a shield with the blade held close to her body.

It was a strong attack, enough to shake her, but she quickly spun through while jumping and lashed out with Samehada in a horizontal attack. The demon didn't have time to react with its monstrous club and took the full force of the strike.

Had the blade not been wrapped up it most likely would have shredded the demon straight through the middle, bifurcating it brutally.

Instead it simply sent the construct rocketing away from the red haired Konoha nin and through a number of tree trunks. She really needed to thank Tsunade for teaching her that strength technique; it was devastating.

Karin's feet touched the ground just in time for her to spin out of the way of an attack she already knew was coming. Dodging under a strike from the thorned weapon utilized by the shirtless Doki she stepped forward jabbing out with her club like blade, a blade that extended itself for a little added effect.

The tip of Samehada impacted with the chest of the huge monster and a shockwave burst out from the point of contact as the construct was sent tumbling away from her.

Only one Doki remained and it was quick to engage the Uzumaki after the fall of the others, lashing out with swift and powerful kicks. Karin was glad she'd spent time training with Naruto and then the past two weeks with Yuugao. Hell even Naruto teaching her the shadow clone technique was a godsend.

If she had never improved at the rate she had Tayuya would have minced her already.

Deftly blocking a head high kick, knocking the leg back to the ground, and ducking under a follow up from the other foot Karin let her blade drop as she swung low at the one foot the Doki had keeping itself upright. She had it dead to rights.

Until it planted it's hands on the ground and lifted the foot into the air, completely avoiding the attack.

Lashing out with that same foot Karin was unprotected, having committed to an attack she couldn't recover from quickly enough, having not expected the course of action Tayuya had the monster take.

She was durable, Uzumakis were, she knew that. But a kick from a monster like that would end her and she knew it. For a second she was afraid as the clawed appendage soared through the air toward her.

While Karin might not have been able to get out of the way fast enough however, Samehada could protect her.

Within an instant her fear was replaced with gratitude for her weapon's prowess as it moved to protect her in the blink of an eye, absorbing a substantial portion of the impact as the two of them were knocked away, stopped by a tree trunk with a resounding crash.

Tayuya herself was shocked at the display of power from a nin that had been next to useless before the chunin exams. What did they put in the water in Konoha?

"That was impressive," Tayuya said from behind cover, pausing her music for a moment, "But it still won't save you. My Doki are powerful beings and cannot be dispatched so easily. They may have some physical limitations but I doubt you'll be able to push them to breaking. Hahahahaha."

Karin stood from where she and her sword had come to a stop as the two Doki she had sent flying with strikes that would have killed people their size rose and made their way back to attack her.

"Oh shit," Karin said, wondering exactly how she was going to get out of the fight alive. She could always try and stop Tayuya from controlling them, but with the way they were positioned they'd intercept any move she'd make. That didn't stop her from trying though, "Okay Sammy, time to get serious,"

Tayuya's eyes widened for a second before she recomposed herself, _That wasn't her true strength?_

In the slight reprieve Tayuya had given her Karin began unwrapping her blade.

xXx

"So you look funny now, what's the big idea?" Naruto said with his signature stupid grin. Inwardly he was wary, because the more people started to look inhuman the more powerful they tended to be in his experience.

Snake face was one example while fish head was another. Both of them were S-ranked missing nin and both of them didn't look human.

He wasn't afraid of the new Sakon and Ukon, but it never hurt to be wary of what they might be capable of now.

The two disfigured shinobi just smiled before they disappeared.

Naruto could follow them thanks to training with the Hiraishin and his own high speed conditioning while Sasuke could make out their movements thanks to his Sharingan.

Both of them were still shocked at the speed at which their enemies could now travel but they weren't unprepared.

The kunai strikes the twin brothers made were both blocked simultaneously before the pairs engaged each other.

Sakon was fighting doggedly with Naruto as the boy flashed around him, always keeping a few Hiraishin kunai in the air. The sound nin couldn't quite catch him, his own kunai hitting nothing with every attempt at the blonde's life.

Ukon was engaged with Sasuke and was having the same problem only it was the boy's almost precognitive Sharingan abilities that were allowing him to stay ahead of his incredibly fast opponent.

With every strike the sound nin made they became more infuriated before without any verbal communication Sakon tried to break away from his engagement with Naruto and launch a combined assault on Sasuke.

"I DON'T THINK SO!" Naruto roared, flinging his hand out to stop Sakon from double-teaming his comrade. Sakon smiled when he realized his speed was enough to get the best of the teleporting brat, having made it past his outstretched hand in time.

That was until a blue chain erupted from Naruto's wrist and wrapped itself around Sakon's waist, "GET OVER HERE!"

As the blue chain retracted Sakon was torn from his feet and pulled rapidly toward the blonde who with a grin and a grunt buried a Hiraishin kunai in the chest of sound shinobi.

"NOOOOOOO BROTHER!" Ukon screamed at seeing his brother so easily dispatched.

"All I had to do was wait for you to make a mistake," Naruto said as the blood dripped down his hands and he prepared to toss the near lifeless shinobi to the ground.

"Ha, ha," Sakon said as he coughed up blood, "As did I," the strange looking nin just smiled as he grabbed the hand holding the kunai in his chest and began disappearing, merging with blonde Jinchuuriki of Konoha.

"AHHHHHHAHAHAHA," Ukon's screams turned into maniacal laugh as he realized just what his brother's ploy was, "Now it's time to have some fun!"

"What the fuck just happened?" was all Sasuke could manage. From what he had just seen Naruto had more or less absorbed his opponent.

xXx

Neji looked up for only a fraction of a second as he heard a scream echo through the woods but it was enough of a distraction to put a crack into his Revolving Heaven defense.

One of Kidomaru's countless golden arrows slipped through the crack and Neji cried out in pain.

He managed to maintain the technique out of desperation until the attack subsided, but when the rain of arrows had ceased and Neji looked down at his right hand he gasped as blood dripped to the ground.

"You will pay for this," He said under his breath, "You will pay for this!" He said once again, loud enough for Kidomaru to hear him.

The stray arrow Neji had let through his defense had managed to fly right into his right hand and in doing so had severed the third and fourth fingers.

"It's okay," he said, calming his breathing and resolving himself for what was to come, "I only need two fingers to stop your heart," and with that the Hyuuga charged.

xXx

"Seriously what the fuck is going on?" Sasuke said confused as to how Sakon had disappeared.

"Sasuke, this feels weird!"

"Of course it feels weird, hahahaha," Ukon spoke up from his position on the battlefield, "You now have my brother residing within you, ready to kill you from the inside at a moments notice, so enjoy your last moments on this earth trash!"

"Oh. Shit," was all Naruto could really muster in response. It wasn't every day you had someone just jump inside your body. As weird as being a ninja was this just didn't happen that often.

And then it really dawned on him what was happening.

"SHITTTT FUCK FUCK FUCK! What do I do? SASUKE WHAT DO I DO?"

"There is nothing you can do you blonde fuck, you are as good as dead now. It's just a matter of time before you die,"

"Actually Ukon," A voice sounded out as a head and neck began emerging from Naruto's back, "I don't think I'll kill him yet, I'm healing extremely quickly inside this body of his, it's strange, but now we won't be held up waiting for this wound to heal."

"Well would you look at that, I guess you get to live a little longer after all brat!"

"WHY YOU!" Naruto began to take steps towards Ukon in an attempt to attack him before he collapsed to the ground in pain.

"Tsk tsk, just because I'm not going to kill you yet doesn't mean I'm going to let you attack my brother Konoha scum, what kind of twin do you think I am?" Sakon said from his position on Naruto's back.

"Sa-sa-suke," Naruto said between bouts of yelling in pain, "J-just don't l-let him t-touch you,"

"Right. Tch, why do we always get the weird ones," Sasuke said simply before Ukon went back on the offensive with the knowledge that Naruto couldn't interfere.

xXx

"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!" Jirobo was seriously starting to find just hunting this girl to be a hassle and if she hadn't punched him in the face so hard he might have been inclined to just go back, have a snack and leave the bitch to run away, but he wanted revenge.

"Because I'm just a silly little girl remember," Sakura said, masking the location of her voice as best she could as she skulked around the forest, moving into position, "I wouldn't stand a chance against you one on one remember? But you're stupid so I don't even have to worry," she said from a position that seemed to be in the opposite direction to her last.

She had Jirobo spinning now, spinning and angry.

He spun; searching for the girl he wanted to crush into dust and it wasn't long before he finally caught a glimpse of the pink hair belonging to the little slut that hit him in the face.

"I SEE YOU BITCH! NO GETTING AWAY THIS TIME!" Jirobo was getting tired of all this running and hiding.

Charging through the forest he began gaining distance on the now fleeing Sakura before she simply turned and disappeared. The goliath of a man went to stop on a dime, now wary of a trap, but it was too late.

He planted his foot on a branch only for the branch to completely give way and for him to tumble; he never reached the ground.

"I told you that you were stupid, but you didn't want to listen," Sakura said in a singsong voice as she looked down on the man struggling in the thick net of ninja wire she'd managed to set up while he was searching for her and chasing her bunshin. She started going through hand seals before holding up a bundle of ninja wire to her mouth, "See ya,"

Flames erupted from her mouth and roared along the ninja wire toward the contained Jirobo, before he began transforming amidst the flames that were burning away at his body.

"I AM NOT GOING OUT LIKE THIS! NOT TO SOME TRASH LIKE YOU!"

_It's now or never_ Sakura thought to herself _I don't know what's happening with his body, but between that and being on fire I don't have a better opening._

Leaping down from her vantage point she brought her fist back. She could feel the flames licking at her as she entered the range of her technique, but it was necessary.

She landed on the chest of the burnt and partially transformed Jirobo before slamming her fist into his neck, channeling chakra and expelling it in the form of a disc from her fingers.

A blade of pure energy erupted from her knuckles and immediately met with the sound nin's neck, finding little resistance.

Jumping away from the flaming headless corpse she landed in trees that weren't knocked down or on fire and started to make her way back in the direction of the others. Part of her hoping she'd been the one to finish up first, after all with Naruto and Sasuke on her team she could always use something else to brag about.

Speaking of Sasuke. She was definitely going to have to pay him back for teaching her some of his fire jutsu during their one on one training, even if her idea of showing gratitude involved quite a different kind of one on one interaction. She wasn't leaving that open for debate.

xXx

Tayuya wasn't quite sure what was wrong with the blade Karin was using but it seemed to quiver even more when it was released from its bindings. She'd seen some weird weaponry but never something that seemed so alive.

From her position in the woods she could clearly see the razor-sharp scales covering the blade and the wide mouth full of sharp teeth. It was a rather terrifying weapon if you were on the receiving end of it. Luckily for her she still had her Doki and wouldn't be losing the fight anytime soon.

Karin was ready for the return of the Doki only this time she was lacking the element of surprise. Tayuya had some idea of what she could do now and would most likely be upping the stakes. She needed to be extra careful, and even though she still had a monstrous amount of chakra left she didn't want to draw out this fight any longer than necessary. If this was what Tayuya could do, who knew what the others would be facing.

This time two of the Doki attacked at once. The demon wearing the spiked bracers made a strike for her head while the monster with its arms bound came in for a low sweeping kick in the opposite direction.

She could feel the third Doki hanging back, but she wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it didn't have the room to attack?

She ducked under the head high strike but in doing so left her no way to dodge the kick coming from the other direction, aimed at the lower half of her body.

Bringing Samehada up in a defensive stance, braced against her shoulder, she managed to sustain minimal damage, with the kick doing nothing but knock her backwards along the ground.

Which was exactly what Tayuya wanted as the third Doki descended from the trees with its large metal club, ready to crush the girl into the dust. Karin of course knew the attack was coming and was prepared. She forced chakra to her feet to get maximum traction before pushing off to the side, barely dodging the strike.

Chances were if she knew it was coming she could block it or get out of the way. If Tayuya was going to win, she wasn't going to win easily.

But now it was Karin's turn.

Changing her momentum once again she dashed back toward the creature that was only just now lifting its weapon from the crater it had created.

Raising her sentient blade she jumped, bringing it down heavily on the Doki's outstretched arms.

The weight of the strike and the extra forced added by her descent was enough to snap the arms of the large creature. The scales of the blade also did substantial damage to the muscles of the demon, flaying the arms almost to the bone.

Jumping backwards and raising her sword defensively she waited to see if it would lash out in retaliation.

If the creature could feel pain and didn't have its mouth sewn shut she was sure it would be roaring, but it just stood over its club trying to retrieve the weapon.

When it became apparent to Tayuya that the body of the beast wasn't going to allow it to be of any more use she de-summoned the Doki. The sound nin still had two more Doki, and she knew exactly what she was going to have them do.

A change in the melody was the first thing Karin noticed, the chords were harsher and the music darker, and then she noticed what was happening to the Doki. Strange ethereal worm-like spirits began emerging from their mouths, squirming as they wormed in the direction of Karin, prompting their Doki hosts to move with them.

"What the fuck is that?"

"You'll find out soon enough bitch," Tayuya said with a smug tone. She didn't stand a chance now.

Karin didn't bother with a response as she charged down the Doki with the spiked arm-wear. It jabbed low at her in response, trying to injure her on her approach but she was able to jump sideways away from the attack before it landed.

She continued, wanting to rid Tayuya of another of her pieces before she could utilize whatever those spirit creatures were. It only took a few more steps before she was in range of the beast's legs. It's body towering over her. If she could severe one of its legs at the knee or damage it badly enough that it couldn't walk she could focus on Tayuya and the last Doki.

The small girl from Konoha wasn't going to get that chance though.

An arm came whistling down to strike at her from above; she hadn't been fast enough.

In response she raised Samehada to deflect the blow but it still managed to stop her in her tracks, giving the creature time to attack her with the sickly looking worm writhing from its mouth.

Jumping back gave Karin the space to bring her blade up in the hopes that whatever it was Samehada was able to stop it.

Tayuya grinned as she watched the situation unfold from her position in the trees. She had her now. A mere blade wouldn't stop her technique from draining all the chakra from her body.

Her Doki were going to be fed tonight.

That was what she thought until the head of the worm collided with the blade, and disappeared. The rest of the spirit promptly followed it as Samehada quickly drained all the mental energy that comprised the worm like creature from the Doki.

The monster stood above Karin twitching, frozen in place. She wasn't sure what she had just done, but she figured that having any sort of energy drained from your body as quickly as that wasn't a pleasant experience.

Before the other Doki could pounce on her she once again stepped forward and lashed out with her blade, only to hit nothing but air as the summon was dismissed. Tayuya didn't need to have another of her Doki injured.

Only one Doki remained between Karin and Tayuya. One final obstacle lay between Karin and her target.

Tayuya now knew what kind of power she was up against. With that sword that treasonous slut was capable of standing toe to toe with her Doki. Even in her second stage cursed seal, going up against a sword that absorbed chakra wasn't something she was even sure she could do. A sentient sword that absorbed chakra.

How did that girl even come by such a monstrous weapon?

Tayuya could only wonder as she dispelled her final Doki and began her transformation.

Karin could feel and see in her minds eye what was happening to the girl as she began changing into a much more powerful combatant.

"I see you've given up looks for power, getting desperate are we? Now whose the 'ugly bitch'?"

Tayuya response was to roar in anger as she jumped down to face her combatant.

She couldn't fail Orochimaru. Failure meant death.

xXx

Sasuke was really starting to feel the pressure. It was one thing fighting an opponent that had incredible speed. It was another to fight an opponent with incredible speed who you couldn't touch. A single touch would mean death it would seem.

He couldn't even help his friend who was intermittently screaming with pain as Sakon kept him in line.

"Oh look, times up," Sakon said from Naruto's back, "That was quick, you are quite remarkable for a piece of trash. But now that I'm healed I have no use for you. Time to die."

"What? NO!" Naruto screamed as he lay on the ground. He began to feel his body changing, dying.

He knew that if he were to die here and now, Sasuke would soon follow him to the grave. Worse he knew that if he were to die here and now, Karin would suffer the same fate.

"**Oh how cute,"** the booming voice of the Kyuubi rang out through Naruto's head and subsequently Sakon's, "**You human scum are pathetic, but if you want to survive boy draw on my power, do it now!"**

"WHAT?" Sakon said, only moments before he had been confident and assured of his victory, "Who is that?"

"**Hahahahaha you've invaded the wrong body, and now you're going to pay for it. I can't make my host suffer, but I can make you suffer as much as I want, enjoy!,"**

Naruto was reluctant to draw on the hateful power of the imprisoned fox but he figured he didn't have a choice. If he didn't do something he was going to die. There were no ifs or buts about it.

He figured it would be harder, but with emotions running high all he needed to do was draw on the power slightly and a torrent of demonic chakra poured forth, flooding his chakra coils and generating a red aura around him as it was expelled into the environment. It only lasted a moment before he got it back under control. But a moment was all he needed.

Sakon never saw it coming. The rapid influx of demonic energy also flooded his chakra coils, as they were interconnected with Naruto's at the time of the event. Chakra coils that weren't used to demonic chakra never stood a chance.

The sound shinobi screamed. Screamed louder than Ukon had ever heard his twin brother scream as he fell from Naruto's body to the ground, a twitching mass of flesh.

He clawed at his skin as blood began to pour from his ears and all over his body massive patches of red indicated bleeding under the skin. Uncontained demonic chakra was never going to do anyone any good, and that was evident in Sakon as it slowly killed him from the inside.

Sasuke could only ponder the irony as he and Ukon stood watching the scene. Someone with a technique that could be used to kill someone from inside their own body was killed by something from inside theirs.

"WHAT ARE YOU? YOU FREAK!" Ukon roared, pointing at Naruto.

And then Sasuke realized he still had someone to fight.

Quickly going through hand seals, using Ukon's brother's death as the distraction he needed he inhaled. The remaining living sound nin saw it coming and went to move out of the way. Only to find he was bound by chakra chains.

The sound nin had to stand and watch as the black haired Uchiha exhaled his death. A fireball three times his size that he had no means to protect himself from.

He screamed for only moments before the heat of the technique melted the flesh from his bones.

xXx

From the screams she'd just heard she knew that Sakon was out of the fight. She'd never heard him scream like that before. That was the scream of a dying man.

Which meant that their chances of winning just dwindled to zero.

She needed to escape, and hope that Orochimaru would spare her life. Spare her so that she may prove she wasn't useless.

They were better chances than she had against this traitor and her monster of a weapon. She had no doubt that she'd be able to take her without it. But it was if she was fighting a two on one fight. As if it had a mind of it's own.

Ever since she started engaging Karin the sword would always make up for her lack of speed, or strength. It wasn't that the girl overly lacked speed or strength, but her natural power should have been nothing compared to the second level of the cursed seal.

Yet with this blasted weapon she was keeping up.

And now they'd lost their so called leader. As much as Tayuya hated to admit he was the strongest of their group. If he was dead they didn't stand a chance. At the very least she had to make it back to Orochimaru-sama and report the situation.

She almost never got the chance.

Karin stepped into range with her sword once again, swinging at chest height.

Using her improved speed Tayuya managed to back pedal out of the way only for the handle of Samehada to extend, giving the weapon a longer range. It clipped her shoulder as she turned to flee and spun her, knocking her to the ground.

The sound nin was in true panic mode now. She needed to retreat; needed to inform Orochimaru-sama of the status of the mission. If only so that he didn't have someone sent after her when he found out she was still alive. If she even survived this battle.

Tayuya scrambled along the ground, trying to recover her speed as Karin closed the distance, reaching into her supplies pack and grabbing a slip of paper from it.

The hit she landed had allowed her to get within an arms reach of the retreating shinobi and launching herself forward she was able to plant the tag on the back of Tayuya, activating it with a stream of chakra.

_Now she's finished._ Karin thought to herself.

That explosion would kill her. A point blank explosive tag was definitely going to be rearranging some of her features.

Only as Karin watched the much faster nin flee she was surprised; the tag never exploded. What was going on?

Looking into the supply pack she noted something odd. There were two bundles of paper. She only remembered packing one bundle of explosive tags. Picking up the one she took the tag she used from she looked at the seal.

_NARUTO!_ She was going to kill that boy when she found him. In her hand was a bundle of Hiraishin seals tags, the kind that Naruto had used on Neji in the finals. She wasn't even sure how they'd managed up in her pack but she was definitely going to find out.

The only consolation she had was that they could find the fleeing sound nin if she didn't take her clothes off or the seal wasn't somehow destroyed.

Dejected that she hadn't been able to eliminate her target Karin made her way in the direction of Neji. She could feel that Naruto was okay, but Neji was injured. She didn't waste any time in arriving on the scene.

As Tayuya fled the battle she couldn't help but praise her lucky stars that the tag that had been planted on her back had been a dud. Kami must have been watching out for her.

xXx

Sakura arrived at the location of Naruto and Sasuke's fight and could still feel the heat of the fireball, as their opponent was burnt alive.

"Sasuke-kun!" she shouted to get their attention as she entered the small clearing, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, Naruto was the one that copped the most, are you okay though? I'm assuming if you're here the fat one isn't a problem anymore?"

Sakura just shook her head in response, not really wanting to go into the details of how she beheaded a man.

"That being said I definitely need to thank you later," Sakura said as she walked over to him and kissed him square on the lips before he could do anything about it, "Without your fire techniques I'd have been done for,"

Naruto was stunned. Sure Sakura and Sasuke had been getting along but since when were they dating? For that matter he couldn't help but notice Sasuke had been just as surprised.

"Hey since when are you two dating! THIS IS NEWS! Think of all the hearts you're breaking Sasuke," Naruto said jokingly.

"I don't know?" the black haired boy said quizzically, "But I'm not complaining, if that's what I get,"

"Well there's more where that came from, I owe you," Sakura said as sexily as she could get away with given the situation.

"HEY GUYS I'M STILL HERE!" Naruto said trying to remind Sakura that she wasn't alone with his best friend and couldn't rape him just yet, "Still…" Naruto continued as he just walked past Sasuke and casually high fived him without saying a word.

That reminded him. _OH SHIT!_ _KARIN!_

"You two can canoodle later, we need to help Karin and Neji," Naruto said, his head back in the right space.

"Actually you don't," Karin said as she jumped down out of the trees holding a very injured Neji, "AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING PUTTING THINGS IN MY SUPPLIES WITHOUT TELLING ME!"

In her rage she almost dropped Neji, "If I wasn't carrying someone who might well die if I drop him I'd be smacking you over the head right now," She said with a glare directed his way.

"Hey! I just wanted to make sure you were safe. We don't know when someone might work out how to get rid of the seal on your arm. Just look what happened to Sasuke, I slipped them in before we left to come out here in case you got captured and I couldn't use your other seal."

Her expression softened a little at hearing the reason but she was still angry, "And because of that I didn't end up killing Tayuya. That being said we can always go find her later if that seal stuck to her,"

"Girls, calm down," Sasuke said derisively, "Seriously, we need to look after Neji then you can continue your couples spat,"

Both of them looked a little ashamed before Naruto spoke up, "Hey! You were just making out with Sakura, you can't lecture us on priorities,"

That being said he was right so Naruto walked over to his girlfriend and took his injured comrade out of her arms before disappearing and reappearing without him.

"I just dropped him off at the hospital with Shizune. She was still looking after Hanabi. It just doesn't seem to be a good day for the Hyuuga clan does it?"

"Guys," Karin said to get their attention, "Tsunade and Hiashi are fighting Kimimaro, let's go, they might need our help."

xXx

Jiraiya was really impressed with the quality of women this village had to offer. He was also disappointed with ANBU. The ANBU in Konoha would have definitely let him continue perving on those hotties in the hot springs.

These ANBU were just downright squares. It didn't help that from what they were wearing he could tell most of them were women. He was lucky he was well known enough to not have gotten a beat down. He just had to remember not to hit on them. It was hard, because his imagination was running wild as to what wild curves each of the Kunoichi possessed under their standard issue robes.

And that was how Jiraiya found himself sitting outside the Raikages office late at night waiting to be shown in by his two ANBU 'escorts'. He guessed he could get a lecture on perving from the Raikage, if that was what he was going to get at all, if it meant he got to get his message across sooner rather than later. Sometimes every second counted.

xXx

Karin was the first to arrive at the edge of the clearing and peer out at the spectacle. When the rest of them caught up she held a hand up to keep them from going any further. They didn't need to be told twice.

They could all see the fight.

This was not something any of them wanted to get involved in.

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**So don't forget to read and review! Tell me what you think, or put in some suggestions if you have them :) I'm glad to hear from anyone about anything :) Hopefully the next one won't take a month, but if it takes ages I'll try and get it up before a month is up anyway. Thanks for reading, until next time.**


	16. 16: Downward Spiral

**So hey guys, sorry for the massive wait, between everything going on in my life and my beta's ME3 (Mass Effect 3) addiction (he told me to put that in there I SWEAR! Seriously though I have an awesome beta), and my other story (which you should go read if you haven't :P) it's been almost two months :(.**

**Don't worry, I haven't stopped writing, and there is plenty of potential for this to go for many many more chapters with the ideas I have bouncing around in my head. Hope you enjoy this chapter, I'll answer some Review questions at the end :)**

**Hopefully with university going back I'll get back into the habit of writing more often, considering I have to spend at least two hours on the train every day.**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**The Champion of Clan Namikaze**

**Chapter 16: Downward Spiral**

* * *

(Earlier that night)

"Whoever is there, do not try my patience, I am on a mission. Stand in my way and I will tear you asunder!" The pale, white haired shinobi in the purple robe called out as he came to a stop in the middle of the wide-open space, "I do not have time to play games, I must fulfill my destiny,"

Tsunade and Hiashi stepped out from their cover and into the field. They'd lost the element of surprise. Now they'd just have to overpower this ninja of the sound. That shouldn't be too hard right? Not with the head of the Hyuuga clan and one of the Sannin.

"What mission might that be?" Tsunade called out, full well knowing what the reply would be. Hiashi just stood next to her, stern and tense, ready to react to any action made by either Tsunade or the mystery nin Kimimaro.

"I've warned you once, I shall not warn you again. The retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke must not be delayed. Orochimaru-sama's plans depend on it!" Kimimaro shouted before charging in a burst of blinding speed.

The woman was most likely the weakest link of the two and therefore his target. He could destroy her and then move onto the Hyuuga. The eyes were the ultimate giveaway, and while he could adjust his skeletal structure to deflect and redirect Jyuuken strikes he still posed a threat.

He covered the distance to the Kunoichi in a matter of moments, rearing back his fist and launching a bone-rattling blow. She made not attempt to block the strike at her head. Amateur. His speed was incredible though, so he could forgive her for not reacting to her impending death.

At the very last second Kimimaro noticed the slightest twitch of her lips.

Tsunade wasn't known for her poker face; if she could manage a half decent one she wouldn't be known as the legendary sucker.

Something was wrong. This was too easy; a fact Kimimaro realized almost too late.

Kimimaro's fist passed through the afterimage of the kunoichi's head as she dropped low under his strike and stepped forward to land a skeleton shattering punch directly on his chest.

The Last Kaguya experienced a feeling of immense shock as he flew back across of the field, launched off the fist of his opponent. He only knew of one other person that could move like that. The person he was completing this mission for. It would seem that in his haste to fulfill his master's will he'd sorely misjudged his opponents.

He could count himself lucky that he'd noticed something was wrong and had been able to adjust his skeletal density accordingly; that punch would have otherwise killed him.

Tsunade herself was displaying surprise. She never felt the expected crush of ribs or the implosion of his chest. In fact, it felt like she'd just punched the hardest steel in existence. What was this ninja?

It had been a while since Hiashi had seen Tsunade in action. Her speed and ferocity was something to marvel. The sheer power of her attack was enough that he felt the movement of the air from the impact where he was standing. The Jyuuken might have been Konoha's deadliest and most graceful form of taijutsu, but he never wanted to be on the receiving end of a hit like that.

What surprised him even more was that the shinobi that took the hit was casually standing up, ready to face them down again.

"It looks like I underestimated you in my desire to fulfill my destiny," The pale ninja said as he stood, looking no worse for wear with the exception of his robe being slightly tattered from his tumble.

"And it seems I should have expected a simple strike like that to not have much effect," Tsunade said calmly. She'd hoped that she could end this quickly. It wasn't everyday that you underestimated an opponent like her and lived to tell the tale.

The Kaguya sized up his opponent more carefully this time, noticing the rather strange jewel on her forward head while taking note of the blonde hair, huge bust and crystal necklace. No wonder he'd not been able to hit her.

"So Tsunade of the Sannin. I didn't realize you were still affiliated with Konoha?"

"No, not truly, but you and your village took the wrong kid. I'm rather fond of the black haired pervert so if you want him be prepared for the fight of your life."

_Can I really take Tsunade of the Sannin and a high-ranking Hyuuga? I have to. There is no option. I have to destroy them or at least give the rest of them time to escape with Sasuke. _

"I will just have to keep you busy then. And I have just the way," Kimimaro said, trying to hide his now shaky confidence as seals started to cover his body. The rush of power he experienced was enough to cause him to grin. He still had this. They were nothing next to the power of Orochimaru.

"I'm afraid stalling us won't achieve anything. Your abduction team won't stand a chance against the caliber of shinobi they are facing. Even if they can all do that little power up trick." Even Tsunade could feel the power radiating off the pale shinobi now covered in lines of black.

_What if they sent jounin? If they sent Tsunade and this Hyuuga the others might be in trouble. The mission objective could be in trouble._

"ENOUGH TALKING THEN!" Kimimaro burst forward with even more speed than before.

This time it was Hiashi's turn to act.

Slipping in front of the albino shinobi's target he lashed out with a strike that hit nothing but air. Only that was the point.

The chakra mass he projected from his palm using the Heavenly Vaccum Palm technique was enough to kill almost anyone, liquefying their organs and sending them tumbling away.

None of that happened. All the attack managed to achieve was stopping Kimimaro in his tracks. He didn't double over in pain nor did he tumble away from the force of the attack.

But the stoppage gave Tsunade time to act, the Sannin having blurred forward from behind Hiashi alongside the chakra projection.

Within moments of the attack stopping Kimimaro in his tracks Tsunade lashed out with a powerful sweep that knocked the feet out from under him before following through with a roundhouse that sent him flying. She didn't feel any bones cracking and when he stood again, looking only slightly worse for wear, both Hiashi and Tsunade were dumbstruck.

"Just what are you!?" the quick to anger Sannin exclaimed. He took an almost point blank vacuum palm followed by a sweep that would have fractured the bones in his legs and a roundhouse that would have snapped every bone in his ribcage. And the only signs he had taken any hits were that his clothes were tattered and his breathing was slightly heavier.

Hiashi though, using his Byukugan, had figured it out by now.

"Tsunade, he's a Kaguya, it's the only explanation. His chakra keeps flaring at any point he would take damage, and his skeletal structure is morphing whenever it happens."

The old woman's eyes went wide. Weren't they all dead? How did Orochimaru even get a Kaguya to work for him, let alone worship him like this one did?

This changed everything.

"I guess you worked out my little secret," Kimimaro said with a smile, his breathing evening out a little as he assessed the situation, they were now in more or less a triangular formation, each of them an equal distance from the other, "and it would appear you can't do any damage to me but I can't get close enough to do any damage to you, only that's about to change."

Before Tsunade or Hiashi could make a move to close the distance between themselves and the Last Kaguya he was transforming.

His skin changed colour and the bones in his face changed, becoming sharper. Black markings appeard around his eyes and six large spikes erupted from his back. A row of spikes appeared down his spine where each of his vertebrae were, and a tail grew from his tail bone.

Hiashi's eyes widened.

"His chakra, it's incredible. Tsunade, we might need to pull out all the stops on this one. He's a Kaguya, and whatever that transformation did it gave him incredible power, the source of it being a seal."

"That blasted cursed seal Orochimaru plants on his toys no doubt," Tsunade really had a bone to pick with Orochimaru. The man was dead to her; she'd make sure herself that he was put in the ground.

That was neither here nor there though, she focused back on the fight as their opponent drew a long blade from behind his head, it grew from his spine and it looked like it was made from bone.

It had to be. He hadn't been wearing it before.

Damn. Making a blade from your own bones.

"Now that's creepy," Hiashi muttered before the Kaguya blurred out of sight, his speed still impressive but no longer on par with his earlier attempts. That wasn't reassuring though, this new form probably hid a variety of nasty surprises.

His first attack was a direct strike at the legendary Sannin, the bone blade lancing out at her throat.

He had the range to fight them now, and if they touched his weapon of choice they'd have serious trouble.

Tsunade saw the attack coming and moved to push the blade aside with a glove of chakra, careful not to touch the blade.

Hiashi blurred out of sight as he closed the distance to the encounter, his Byakugan revealing the true threat. Kimimaro was charging an abnormally large amount of chakra in his left arm, the arm that wasn't holding the blade.

Tsunade blocked the blade, deflecting it and moving forward to strike the Kaguya, only for the pale boy to bring his left arm up in a palm thrust. A spear of bone erupted from his hand, lancing out toward the kunoichi, already committed to her attack.

A blast of chakra flew past them, coming from the direction of Hiashi, having launched it in an attempt stop the attack from impaling Tsunade. It worked.

The chakra attack had been well placed enough that it struck the side of Kimimaro's arm, pushing it across his body, the lance of bone only just grazing Tsunade as she bore down on him.

Kimimaro used this unexpected gain in momentum to swing all the way around, his tail lashing out at the legs of attacking kunoichi.

Hiashi saw his opportunity to attack and moved forward, slipping into a signature Hyuuga stance.

"You're within my field of divination,"

Kimimaro was ready.

Tsunade jumped, but the defensive maneuver was enough to slow her down for a fraction of a second, long enough for Kimimaro to continue his spin, bringing his right hand, and his blade along with it, around.

Hiashi had been so close to performing the fight ending technique that he grimaced when he was forced to drop below the blade, hairs falling in front of his face. He'd come incredibly close to losing his head.

Tsunade stepped forward, the threat of the tail gone, and only the threat of the boy's sword arm to deal with as he continued to turn back to her. She stepped forward, planting a foot in the back of his right knee, forcing him to the ground and grabbing his right arm with her right hand, stopping it's advance toward her.

She grinned as she pulled her fist back, ready to strike out at their troublesome opponent. You didn't survive a focused point blank hit to the head; not from Tsunade Senju, the strongest woman in the world.

"TSUNADE! NO! LET GO!" Hiashi screamed as he launched himself toward Kimimaro.

Quickly snapped from thoughts of victory she did just as her comrade commanded. Not a second too late as huge lances of bone erupted from the prior points of contact in the direction of the Sannin. Upon hitting nothing they began to retreat back into the Kaguya, before he was launched away with a two footed kick to the chest from Hiashi. The Hyuuga quickly put an arm down to prevent himself from crashing to the ground before getting his feet back under him and standing up.

"Thanks Hiashi, those eyes of yours are incredibly useful. And what was that? I've never seen a master of the gentle fist use such a blunt attack before,"

"Haha, that's just because we never normally have to use anything but the gentle fist," Tsunade looked at him curiously, "What? You think we just twiddle our thumbs once we master the Jyuuken?"

"Fair point,"

"It doesn't matter now, our friend is getting back up, and it looks like we have visitors," Hiashi said, nodding in the direction of the forest, "The genin aren't far out, Neji is missing, hopefully that means he was sent back to the village to report,"

Tsunade smiled; more ammo for her to salt the wound.

"Did you hear that?" she called out to the foreign nin, "Your comrades are defeated! Sasuke has been saved. Gosh, won't Orochimaru just be so disappointed to hear that?" She added smarmily. She knew how to push buttons.

"STOP! YOU LIE!" Kimimaro screamed, easily upset in his advanced form, "I WILL COMPLETE MY MISSION! I WILL GET SASUKE TO OROCHIMARU-SAMA!"

Seeing four Konoha genin appear on the edge of the clearing, observing the spectacle in front of him was enough to send him over the edge. The normally calm and reserved ninja, twisted by the power of the cursed seal and enraged that he couldn't complete his mission lost all form of sanity.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

"Bring it on," Tsunade said with a grin, a grin that lasted until the Kaguya blurred toward them faster than before, "Shit."

Tsunade and Hiashi were now on the defensive as The Last Kaguya launched everything he had at them. Any time they came close to being able to launch a strike at any part of his body, razor sharp bones would emerge from his skeleton, forcing them to retreat.

Between his tail and his sword he had a range advantage and with his ferocity he was easily pushing them back. They couldn't get close and every chakra attack that Hiashi was launching did nothing to perturb the raging madman from his assault.

"ALRIGHT ENOUGH!" Tsunade screamed after he'd pushed them back a fair distance. While his attacks were threatening they could be dealt with. Any lesser shinobi might have slipped up, but Hiashi and Tsunade weren't anything but the best, so the vicious assault that Kimimaro was dishing out, while deadly, was more annoying. She'd had enough and she saw her opportunity.

The Sannin lashed out as Kimimaro took another step toward her. Only she lashed out at the ground.

Earth erupted around them, plates of rock lifting up from the field as the shockwave rocketed out from the point of impact; the earth rippling.

Hiashi had seen it coming and was prepared to act.

Kimimaro, in his rage, wasn't so lucky.

A plate of rock launched up beneath him, causing him to lose his footing.

"NOW HIASHI!"

Hiashi simply nodded as he dropped low in front of the sound ninja who was trying to regain his balance in the second after the attack.

A double palmed chakra strike lashed out with enough force to project the nin higher into the air.

A second pushed him further into the air.

The assault didn't stop, Hiashi never allowing him to recover; each attack forcing The Last Kaguya higher and higher, tumbling through the sky above the Hyuuga, the clan head juggling the sound nin almost.

Tsunade went through a series of hand seals before slamming the ground, causing a giant plume of smoke to erupt around her before reappearing on the top of a giant slug.

"Thanks for the lift Katsuyu!" she said with a grimace as she jumped from her summon's head, dismissing the giant slug at the same time. It was enough to gain more height than the tumbling Kimimaro.

She was above him now. And that was all she needed. She focused as much chakra as she could manage into her right fist as she bore down on the shinobi rising toward her.

"EAT SHIT!"

Her fist hit him square in the face and she felt each and every bone in his head fracture. The Last Kaguya rocketed off her hand at an angle, sending him toward a part of the field a distance away from them.

It was all Kimimaro could manage just to prevent his head from popping under the force of the attack. His last assault had taken a lot of his chakra and he didn't have the time or energy to produce bone in a counterattack. He just had to make sure whatever attack Tsunade had in store for him he could survive.

And so while he had a broken nose, a fractured skull and most of the bones in his face were cracked, he was still alive as he was sent plummeting toward the ground, his body impacting with the earth in a plume of dust. The impact was a little softer thanks to Tsunade's previous attack, the strike loosening the soil. It helped, but it didn't stop the impact fracturing more of his skeleton.

Yet consciousness remained.

The Last Kaguya only wished as he lay in a crater in a field that his frail body wasn't holding him back. He would have been able to deal with these pests otherwise.

But, he'd survived her strike, and he'd survived the fall. He would survive. He was a Kaguya and he was Orochimaru's servant. He would survive, and he would complete his mission.

If he couldn't do that he'd take these heathens with him!

Yes, he'd take these shinobi with him for delaying the will of Orochimaru-sama!

The Last Kaguya lay face down on the ground in his small crater, coughing blood as Tsunade landed deftly, using one of the angled plates of debris as a ramp, slowing her descent.

As this was happening four young Konoha nin sat with their mouths agape at the sight of the combo attack they'd just witnessed.

"Wow, I mean I knew Baa-chan was strong but that was freaking awesome! It's so awesome she lives with us, dattebayo!" Naruto didn't even care that she was grouchy most of the time. She was a bona fide badass in his eyes now and that would never change.

"Tell me about it, that had to be one of the coolest attacks I've ever seen," Sasuke added, his Sharingan spinning. He'd had it active to keep up with movements of the high level ninja in the field before them and now he'd never forget that combo.

"What are you talking about teme? You saw that move I pulled out on Gaara, that was fucking awesome, how was that cooler?" Naruto shouted indignantly. His move was awesome too, why didn't he get recognition?

"Because… You don't have jugs like that dobe," Sasuke said, still a little dazed from the sight of seeing Tsunade fight. He wouldn't forget that jiggling any time soon.

Naruto pouted, having been outdone by breasts, and Sakura seethed, her face turning a solid red as she turned a death stare towards her 'kind of boyfriend'.

They hung out a lot now and they were friendly towards each other, she'd even gotten away with kissing him just before, something she'd been trying to build the courage to do whenever they were alone. But even then she still couldn't work out why he didn't start at least behaving like her boyfriend. He did like her didn't he?

_He kissed me back didn't he?_

Maybe she was trying too hard.

Karin could only laugh. She didn't envy the pink haired girl. She was chasing after a guy that could save within his mind the visage of any woman he would ever see. And it seemed like he had a taste for over sized fruit. She had to say that Sasuke was a good guy, but from what she'd seen of him he was also very curious about all things physical. It was a natural assumption, considering his Icha Icha addiction, and she didn't see why he would have any reason to be loyal to any one girl.

While the bickering between the teens went unnoticed Hiashi and the Sannin made their way slowly toward the crater the elite sound ninja had made when his body so resolutely hit the earth.

"Do you want to give up yet?" Tsunade said. She pitied the boy lying in the dirt below them, beaten and broken. Orochimaru had used him and he'd paid the price.

"I… Will… Never… Submit!" Kimimaro said, not looking towards the two shinobi above him, wasn't about to surrender; not to these Konoha scum.

"You don't really have a choice," Hiashi said calmly, now that the fight had died down a little, "You are in no condition to fight back,"

"Who…" Kimimaro started before being interrupted by a bout of coughing that brought up a lot of blood, splattering the ground beneath his head as he struggled to get to his hands and knees, "said anything about a fight?"

At that moment he turned to look up at Tsunade, a look in his eyes that showed he'd lost the last semblance of sanity that he ever had. Tsunade really did feel sorry for him.

A look of alarm crossed Hiashi's face as he stood watching the scene. Something was wrong; chakra was spreading out across the field, waiting to be spring from the dirt. He could feel it, but that could only mean that Kimimaro still had enough fight left to pose a final threat.

This was the kind of attack that you didn't survive executing. Once this was over Kimimaro would be dead, that kind of chakra drain was enormous.

But if it were that kind of attack then he and Tsunade would most likely be dead when it came around.

He'd be damned if he was going down to some kamikaze attack; he knew they didn't have much time.

Quick as a flash Hiashi was standing over the broken shinobi.

A quick final thrust and the little life Kimimaro had left was gone, his brains liquefied by the high powered close range Jyuuken strike that he was clearly in no condition to block.

Tsunade could only look at the Hyuuga in shock, "What the fuck was that?" Hiashi had just brutally killed someone who wasn't a threat any longer, "What was he going to do? Look at us funny until we died?" As crazy as Kimimaro was he'd been manipulated by Orochimaru, and Tsunade was never one for needless violence; oh who was she kidding, but killing someone like that was where she drew the line.

"He was actually about to kill us with an attack. I felt his chakra spreading out into the ground, have a look," Hiashi said, motioning toward the field around them.

Looking at the dirt Tsunade could see tiny tips of bone just beginning to emerge from the soil. They were everywhere.

"Well shit, sorry," she said sheepishly when she realized that she'd just been saved, "that could have been nasty,"

"Indeed, hence why I decided to kill him now, and save ourselves, than to let him kill us all, himself included," Hiashi said matter of factly. He knew Tsunade was averse to killing, but it was necessary. He wasn't going to lose sleep over it.

Tsunade just nodded in assent. It was necessary. She had been hoping they could save him, and get some information, but that was a long shot even before Kimimaro had looked at her. The look he gave her in his final moments was enough for her to realize that he would never turn on Orochimaru.

With the threat finally gone she and Hiashi made their way toward the trees. They needed to find out what the situation was. What had happened to Neji.

It wasn't long before the elder shinobi were upon the four kids, their bickering now over; even if Sakura was still casting glares at Sasuke, and Naruto was pouting.

"Okay brat, tell us what happened," Tsunade said as they came to a stop.

"Yes, what happened to Neji?" Hiashi was rather concerned for his nephew, he was a prodigy within the clan, and now that he was finally back on track it would be a tragedy if he'd fallen in combat.

Naruto, taking charge within the group, even though Sakura outranked him, was the first to speak up.

"He's okay, lost two fingers, and he's a bit beaten up, but Karin looked him over and he should live. I dropped him back to the hospital as soon as we all met back up again. The rest of us had a little trouble with our fights when they started to transform, but it wasn't anything we all couldn't handle. We're just glad we didn't have to fight that guy," the other kids nodded before Naruto added, "even if I could have taken him," to which every person present rolled their eyes.

"Shut-up dumbass, as if you could, he would have destroyed you!" Sakura spoke up after they'd all recovered from their nightly dose of Naruto.

Karin interjected before the blonde could pipe up at Sakura's jab, "You're forgetting something Naruto," she said, "Tayuya got away. But that's not what's important," Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "what's important is that I tagged her with the Hiraishin, meaning wherever she goes -,"

"We can follow," Tsunade said, a glimmer in her eyes. This might just be the only shot they get at Orochimaru for a long time.

"No," this time it was Hiashi's turn to speak up, "as much as I would love to go and teach that snake a lesson for the kidnapping of my daughter it's not our best move. We have four children," cue annoyed pouts, "and while we have two experienced shinobi in you and myself we'd be going in blind. Who knows what Orochimaru has holed up with him?"

"Yeah, and he'd have Kabuto. From what Karin said that guy is just plain nasty," Sakura said, not too keen to go hunting for danger even if she did want to get back at Orochimaru for kidnapping Sasuke. They had Sasuke now though; they could return to the village and decide what to do from there.

Karin nodded in assent.

"Fine," Tsunade growled. As angry as she was, she knew they couldn't go in guns blazing without any kind of intel, and then she had a thought, "Actually, Naruto."

"Yeah baa-chan?" the blonde said, frankly he was content to do either. He was just happy he had his best friend back.

"What happens when you focus on a Hiraishin marker? What intel can you get from it?"

"Ummm, not much, I just get a general feeling of what is directly around the marker, so I don't teleport into an object or something. I can't really tell much. If people are close enough to it I can make out gender and looks, but most of it's a blur and just a spatial feeling of the area."

"Damn, so we can't use the marker to gather intel," Tsunade was annoyed, what she thought was a golden ticket to Orochimaru was slowly dwindling to nothing.

"You guys are forgetting something," Sasuke said, standing up straight as he pushed himself off the tree he was leaning on and made his way closer to the group, putting away his Icha Icha. He was just glad his book hadn't been damaged in the fight.

"Yeah?" Sakura was curious as to what insight her, her, well she didn't know what to call him anymore, could offer.

"Naruto, do you hide the markers you've been leaving around the country for fast travel?"

"Yeah, what but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Why do you hide them?"

"So they can't be moved or stolen. People getting their hands on the seal isn't exactly a good idea."

"Exactly," Hiashi spoke up, getting the point Sasuke was trying to make, "I'm glad you're the one tutoring my daughter, you do have a keen intellect after all,"

"What? I don't get it?" Sakura said, scratching her head.

"Naruto hides his markers so people can't find a weakness in the seal, because while highly improbable it is still possible. We now have an enemy shinobi with a seal, even if she doesn't know that, heading towards one of the greatest shinobi threats to the village of Konoha. See the problem?" Sasuke said as if it were obvious.

"Shit," Naruto said, "I guess we can't just let her leave then huh?" having the ability to teleport straight into Orochimaru's lair would have been pretty handy. Sasuke made a good point though.

"That and we don't know when she'll be in the base. We don't know if we'll be walking into a trap. We don't know anything," this time it was Karin's turn to speak, "We could be teleporting straight into a trap if Orochimaru figures it out and we don't teleport in as soon as Tayuya gets back to him. Which we have no way of knowing."

"Grrrr," As much as it made Tsunade angry she knew what Naruto had to do, "Fine, go get her."

xXx

She had to get back to Orochimaru. She had to escape and report. Hopefully he wouldn't kill her.

She was still loyal and she could still fight, even if she'd lost her Doki. Orochimaru would appreciate her coming back right?

Her thoughts of Orochimaru were interrupted by a sickening sensation in the pit of her stomach as she was ripped off her feet and pulled into darkness.

When she finally got her bearings again she was surrounded by six people she really hadn't wanted to see again.

In a matter of seconds the trees around them were filled with profanity.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON! NOT YOU FUCKERS AGAIN!"

She was completely surrounded and there was no way for she was getting away. Tayuya slipped into a defensive stance, hoping they wouldn't kill her.

"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT YOU PIECE OF SHIT?" she said when she realized that Naruto was the one that had been touching her when she reappeared.

"Magic," he said with a gleeful smile before erupting in laughter, "Oh Kami, this is funnier than the first time I used it on Ten Ten."

Karin's ears pricked up at the mention of another girl their age that Naruto had 'used' the Hiraishin. He probably meant nothing by it. But she'd have to investigate.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU YOU FUCKING BASTARD TRASH!"

"Hiashi," Tsunade said with a pained look on her face.

In the blink of an eye he was behind the last remaining member of the elite sound five and had struck out, rendering her unconscious.

"Oh thank Kami, I was about to kill her. Bitch needs to learn volume control," Tsunade sighed in relief.

Hiashi simply nodded while Karin laughed. She was so glad that she was no longer a spy for Orochimaru. Life had really turned around for the young girl.

"Anyway, now that our ticket to Orochimaru is more or less gone, lets round up these bodies and get the hell out of here." Tsunade said more tiredly than before. Maybe the fight with Kimimaro was catching up to her, "I need a bath,"

xXx

In the village hidden in the clouds Jiraiya shuddered in delight and he couldn't quite muster a reason. Sure, one damn fine Kunoichi had escorted him to the Raikage's office, but that didn't warrant the shuddering, and touching his face, the small nose bleed.

He just shrugged it off as a mystery of the universe. He'd had stranger things happen.

xXx

The retrieval team plus Sasuke collected Kimimaro, so that the secrets of his Kekkai Genkai couldn't be discovered by anyone who just happened by his body.

After that they made their way toward the sites of the other fights only to find nothing.

Doing a quick search of the area with her Minds Eye Karin rapidly expanded her search radius, to just catch a number of shinobi at the edges of her range. They were moving back in the direction of Konoha and were the only people nearby.

Meaning they were most likely responsible for the bagging and tagging of the corpses.

Corpse theft. Sometimes she just hated being a shinobi.

"We had visitors," Karin explained to the Konoha ninja around her, "They must have come and taken the bodies while we were over watching the Kimimaro fight. I didn't notice because I don't always have my Minds Eye Technique at full power; it can get draining over time."

"That's okay, where are they headed? Maybe we can catch them?" Tsunade asked, they might need those bodies to unlock the secrets of the cursed seal. If they could then maybe they could relieve Anko and Sasuke of their burdens.

"Funnily enough they're headed back in the direction of Konoha, maybe the Hokage sent reinforcements?" Karin added.

"No, I don't think so," Hiashi added to the conversation, "I think I might know who's responsible though," saying this he exchanged a dark look with Tsunade, "Do they have any kind of village affiliation on their gear, anything linking them to Konoha or any other village for that matter?"

"Actually, no, they don't? That's weird,"

"Yeah it is," Tsunade said with an exasperated sigh, "Fuck this day just keeps getting better and better."

Naruto, Sakura just stood confused. Sasuke was standing against a tree with his Icha Icha out. It was obvious he was listening but he was trying to be as aloof as possible. If you were going to be cool you had to be cool all the time. That was something he learnt from Kakashi.

"What are you going on about now Baa-chan? Did you hit your head in the fight with Kimimaro? We won! No one died! Sasuke is he-!"

"Kid," She said seriously, "This is way above your pay grade, I think we need to go have a talk with the Hokage as soon as possible. Get us back to the village."

If Hiashi and Tsunade's suspicions were correct they had more than Orochimaru to worry about. Danzou was up to his old tricks again.

Hiashi and Tsunade knew enough about ROOT when it was being officially being run by the old geezer to know it was bad news.

Ever since the Chunin Exam everything had been going to hell.

xXx

The Raikage was a tank of a man. His physical size intimidated almost anyone just by virtue of him being in the same room as them. His height was still apparent even as he sat behind a desk, and for once he wasn't wearing his Kage's hat. His white hair was slicked back, and his moustache and beard were clearly visible in the light of the room while his pronounced cheekbones even further accentuated the grave look he was giving Jiraiya.

"So what brings the legendary Jiraiya of the Sannin to my village? I know it wasn't just to spy on the hot springs, or I'd have kicked you out. So what is it, and don't waste my time Jiraiya," the Raikage said sternly.

"Ahhh yes, the fine women of this village, and they really are fine, it's been much too long since I've last been here."

"Get to the point pervert," the Raikage looked mighty close to slamming his fist through the table in impatience. I guess if you could move as fast as he could you'd have impatient tendencies.

"Fine, I've come with a warning, yours is the first village I've come to visit and I'm going to make the roun-,"

The Raikage's countenance hardened and the guards in the room all drew weapons.

"You think you can threaten us just because you've got the fourths brat doing _that_ jutsu!" This time his hand went through the table, unhindered by restraint.

"Oh shit, so you've heard about that?"

"Word spreads quickly in this country sage. Now before I kill you I want to hear the threat that Konoha decided to have you send to each village. I'm surprised that they sent you here first, I hope they didn't think you'd make it out alive."

"No NO!" Jiraiya said quickly, "Naruto wouldn't harm a flea unless it tried to bite him, you shouldn't fear the boy. I'm here with news of a threat to everyone. Ourselves included."

This enlightenment kept the Raikage from launching himself across the table and flattening the Sannin.

"Go on," he said sternly, still very much on guard.

"We obviously got off on the wrong foot. Konoha isn't of the mind to threaten anyone. I came here to warn you of a threat to your Jinchuuriki. A threat to every Jinchuuriki, even ours."

"You have a Jinchuuriki?" this was news to A, but it wasn't long until the pieces fell together and he realized exactly which Biju the village of Konoha was keeping in the wings, "The Kyuubi, well you kept that secret for a while,"

"Yes, we did, but this threat supersedes the need for secrecy, now can we talk in private?"

"Hmmm, leave us," He said to the guards in the room, he could defend himself if Jiraiya really was a threat, "Yugito, you can stay,"

The kunoichi was the shinobi that had escorted him originally from the hot springs. And damn was she a fine specimen. With straight blonde hair tied back with bandages she wore a short-sleeved black and purple blouse that revealed to the Sannin that while she wasn't as blessed as Tsunade she was still rather stacked. In fact he was having trouble keeping his eyes off her figure. The red belt she wore around her waist was more than enough to accentuate the hourglass figure that she was sporting.

As distracting as she was Jiraiya wasn't daft, "Jinchuuriki then?" he asked when they were alone.

She looked at A before he nodded and she spoke up, "Hai, Jiraiya-sama," She looked slightly nervous to be there, something that the Raikage picked up on.

"Oh for kami's sake girl, I'll not have you standing there useless, just ask him for his bloody autograph,"

A small grin broke out on the girl's face as she moved forward, a copy of Icha Icha Paradise appearing in her hands from nowhere.

Even the Raikage was a little amused, something that rarely happened, "I had my suspicions. The fact that she didn't beat you senseless when she brought you in was evidence enough though, whoever thought the almighty Yugito-nii was a closet Icha Icha fan," he chuckled at his own exposition as Jiraiya finished the autograph with a flourish, writing his room number at the bottom of the page as subtly as he could.

An incredibly hot, womanly, Icha Icha crazed Jinchuuriki. She had to be kinky and he'd be damned if he wasn't getting in on that.

Now that the pleasantries were out of the way the Raikage returned to his no nonsense mood.

"So what is this threat?" he said matter of factly.

Jiraiya wasn't about to beat around the bush, he'd do that later, with some Jinchuuriki company.

"A rogue organization known as Akatsuki. I'm not entirely sure of their composition, but I do know that they are home to a number of high level S rank missing nin. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki are just two of their number. They seem to be hunting for Jinchuuriki and for the most part have no trouble infiltrating a village courtesy of their skill.

I'm sure there are other major threats within the organization. My sources reveal that Orochimaru himself was a member. So I hope that drives home the caliber of shinobi they might have at their disposal.

All I'm saying is be careful, because you won't know they were here until your Jinchuuriki are gone."

"Hahahahah, thank-you for the warning, but surely you don't think we would be incapable of defending ourselves from a few rogue ninja?" the Raikage was confident in the skill of his two Jinchuuriki, they'd be fine.

Jiraiya's countenance hardened again and he leaned forward in his chair.

"You don't understand, I wouldn't be coming here to warn you if this threat wasn't incredibly serious, they are all incredibly dangerous."

"And how do you know all this?"

Jiraiya sighed, he may as well tell them if it helped drive the point across. They didn't need this organization getting their hands on any bijuu. "Because they made an attempt at our Jinchuuriki."

"And you fought them off?"

"Only just. We were attacked by Itachi and Kisame, that's how I know they are a part of Akatsuki."

"And they failed?"

"Only because I had help defending the Jinchuuriki," Jiraiya would be damned if he revealed that Naruto was the container for the Kyuubi, "and because it seemed like the attempt was simply them snatching at an opportunity that presented itself. I'm sure that next time they'll be much better prepared,"

"Even so you defeated them yes?"

"Drove them off, not defeated."

xXx

(Meanwhile in Konoha)

The Hokage was incredibly relieved with the success of the mission. Other than the injury suffered by the Hyuuga prodigy Neji it had been a complete success.

The team had even managed to recover the body of a Kaguya with the cursed seal and retrieve a living sound-nin in the form of Tayuya. She'd been escorted to the 'information' department before she could wake up.

Tsunade had insisted.

The Hokage's relief though was mainly due to the team all agreeing to give him the good news first.

Hiruzen stood beaming at the four young ninja in front of him in the form of Karin, Sasuke, Sakura and his favorite youngster of all Naruto. They had each recounted their battles and he knew he'd be giving field promotions to both Sasuke and Naruto. He'd get Neji's recount when the boy had recovered from his injuries, he was sure he'd be receiving a promotion himself. From what Sasuke said the young Hyuuga had acted admirably.

Karin's efforts were easily enough for him to remove the restrictions that she was currently under and he could stop having her tailed. She could officially become an active, unrestricted genin of Konoha. She had the skill of a chunin, but genin was still the best he could do for her with the current situation among the village leaders.

However even he couldn't avoid the sinking feeling in his stomach as all the stories came to an end. There was something off, least of all the fact that they only brought back one dead sound ninja. That and Tsunade and Hiashi didn't look too happy.

The feeling of unease wasn't as prevalent among the children, but it was still there. Something else had happened that they were saving for last, and if they were saving it for last it must have been something serious.

Hiruzen sighed, "And what's the bad news?"

Tsunade smirked for only a second, glad the old man wasn't losing his touch, "We were tailed by another group of ninja, shinobi that bore no affiliation. Shinobi that were heading back toward Konoha with the other bodies and shinobi that were only detected thanks to Karin's Mind's Eye of Kagura."

Naruto then decided it was his turn to speak, "I don't know how we were followed though. I mean we left with the Hiraishin and we left so quickly who the hell even knew?"

"Yeah, they didn't attack us, but tailing us like that is creepy," Sasuke, added.

Hiruzen knew though, and he wasn't happy. He'd only told Danzou of the rescue. Ninja with no affiliation, gathering corpses, tailing the rescue team and retreating with almost no trace, thank kami for that Mind's Eye technique. It all was eerily clear for the old man. Danzou was still running ROOT behind his back. The only advantage Hiruzen now had was that Danzou didn't know he knew.

"Okay, you are all dismissed," he said to the young shinobi, "get back to your homes. I need to talk to Tsunade and Hiashi," He stopped to think for a second, "Actually Naruto return here when you drop your friends home," He needed to talk to Jiraiya, and for that he needed Naruto.

"Awwww man!" Naruto exclaimed, he hated being left out of things. He was quickly shut up by the combined look from all three of the elder shinobi that said 'This is way above your pay-grade so shut up and do as you're told'

"Tch, whatever, it's not like I care about it, I'm just glad to be back," Sasuke said as cooly as possible, "Let's get out of here Naruto, I need a bath, I think I have crispy bits of that Ukon guy in my hair,"

"Fiiiinnneeee," Naruto complained as he grabbed his friends and disappeared.

Karin and Sakura were just glad to be going home.

The blonde reappeared a moment later.

"Okay Naruto, this really isn't something I can tell you just yet, but I do need to talk to Jiraiya,"

"Right, so you want me to go get him then?" Naruto was a little excited to be helping, even if they wouldn't fill him in.

"Yes, but," the Hokage added before Naruto could flash away, "Just check his surroundings before you pull him out, he could be doing something important."

"Right, right," Naruto said with a concentrated look on his face, "Umm he's sitting in a room,"

"What else?" Tsunade asked, quite curious as to what her former teammate was up to.

"Umm there's a really hot blonde in there with hi-,"

"GO AND GET HIS ASS AND BRING HIM BACK HERE SO I CAN BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HIM," the former curious Tsunade screamed in fury before Naruto could explain that the blonde was in Kunoichi attire.

That didn't matter anymore though, there was a raging Tsunade in the room, and you didn't question a raging Tsunade if you wanted to live much longer.

He disappeared in a flash.

xXx

Naruto appeared in between a rather large man with dark skin and his teacher. He was crouched on the desk that sat between them like a frog staring straight into the eyes of the intimidating man whose name he didn't know. A frog that had just hopped into a very awkward situation as the three people looked on gob smacked.

"Fuck, I just interrupted something important didn't I?" Naruto blurted out as soon as he took note of his surroundings and the growing rage of the man in front of him. He quickly tacked on a, "I'll bring him back soon I promise," before grabbing Jiraiya and disappearing, leaving only a Hiraishin kunai jutting out of the chair the Sannin had been sitting on only moments before.

The cute red haired receptionist had been having a rather nice, calm night, even with all the ninja coming and going.

That was until a desk flew through the double doors that led into the office of the Raikage.

"ARGHHHHHHHH!"

xXx

"Now you've done it brat," Jiraiya said as soon as the quesy sensation in his stomach had passed and he got his bearings, "You fucking pissed off the Raikage. And I was actually making some small amount of progress,"

Tsunade had been about pound the living daylights from the white haired man in front of him when she paused.

"At getting in the pants of that hot Jinchuuriki,"

Naruto, Hiashi and Hiruzen then proceeded to wait as Jiraiya made his way back into the room through the newly created man shaped hole in the wall.

He rubbed the back of his head as he entered, "But in all seriousness I think I was getting across the threat of the Akatsuki, why'd you have to ruin it?"

As much as he hated Naruto he figured the kid had a pretty good reason to bring him back to the Hokage's office. He sighed inwardly.

"What happened?" he asked dejectedly, knowing what he was about to hear wouldn't be good.

Hiruzen wasn't going to pull punches, "Orochimaru tried to kidnap Sasuke, but we managed to get him back. Apart from Orochimaru still being alive, well and still plotting we've got a threat closer to home. Time to go Naruto, I'm sorry but you don't need to hear this,"

"Awwww ma-," he was cut-off by his disappearing act and the room was silent.

"So what is it?" the white haired sage asked.

"Danzou is still running ROOT," Tsunade spoke up, pissed at their current situation. Between Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and Danzou off doing whatever he damn well pleased things weren't exactly looking great.

"Fuck,"

"Yep," was all Hiashi thought necessary to add.

This could mean so many things, nearly all of them bad. Their long night was about to get a lot longer.

xXx

(Meanwhile, somewhere underneath Konoha)

"Danzou-sama, we retrieved the bodies that we could without being detected, and we observed the fights as best we could from the safe distance we'd set up. The combat abilities of the children are quite impressive." The masked shinobi said from the darkness.

"Good, good, get to work on uncovering whatever secrets you can from the bodies, especially the cursed seal. This has been an advantageous venture," Danzou finished with a chuckle as he walked away from the little light there was in the tunnels beneath the village.

They'd observed the children, Sasuke had been retrieved without intervention, and the corpses of Kekkai Genkai and cursed seal users had been recovered, not all of them in good condition, but nonetheless it had been a good day.

As usual it had all gone down without detection. Or so he thought.

By the time they would have noticed the missing bodies his ninja would have been far out of the range of even Hiashi.

xXx

"Dobe, stop jumping around, we all just fought for our lives and you act like you just woke up," Sasuke said as he sat on the couch of the living room, having just finished taking a bath. He was finally not covered in filth, now all he needed was some peace and quiet.

Sakura had rushed home to relieve the worries of her parents, while Karin had gone to have a bath before bed; between her fight and the drain of Samehada she needed some rest and relaxation.

"You know I always have energy, unless I've been spamming Hiraishin and Rasengan like there's no tomorrow. The fight with Sakon wasn't nearly as taxing as the one with Kisame. At least I could beat Sakon though. Fighting Kisame again probably wouldn't end well for me right now."

"Right, it's that bloody fox isn't it?"

"Pretty much," Naruto said as he plopped down next to his best friend with a bowl of ramen in his hands.

"Dude, chill, if you've got so much energy, go see what happened to Neji and Hanabi. Actually that reminds me, I should probably check up on her. Ughh, I hate being smart. Ignorance would be so much easier,"

"What?" Naruto said, having drifted off for a bit, his attention entirely on the noodles caught between his chopsticks.

"Exactly,"

"Oh shuddup," he said as he snapped back to reality with a mouthful of noodles, "you know I'd kick your ass,"

"Yeah whatever, now get us over to the hospital I want to see how those two are holding up."

xXx

Hanabi awoke groggily from sleep to find herself in a hospital. The last thing she remembered was some strange ninja confronting her and her mentor Sasuke in the training ground. She was really hoping she was in the Konoha hospital.

Looking around she could see another person in the bed next to her, their shape silhouetted against the curtain between them by the moonlight shining through the window. There was no real indicator of where she was other than the medical equipment that told her she was in a hospital.

Pulling the covers back from over the top of her she slipped out of the bed as quietly as possible, looking for her clothes. After a minute of silently changing she made her way to the door, barely making a noise as she entered the hallway and turned left down the hall.

Only to feel the pressure of a hand on her shoulder.

She tensed, ready to lash out at her would be attacker.

"Where do you think you're going short-stuff?" a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.

Turning fully around her eyes widened in delight at seeing her mentor looking down at her before she ran into him, hugging him around the waist.

"Come on now, we can't have dobe here thinking we're soft now can we?"

"No Sasuke-sama," she said firmly after she pulled away, a puzzled look coming to her face, "And how come I didn't just see you? I just checked down that hall before moving out,"

"We're better ninja than you, it's why I'm teaching you and not the other way around," she looked a little downcast at being caught out so easily, "come on," he said, leading Naruto and Hanabi back into the room she'd just been caught leaving. At least now she knew she was in Konoha, and not some foreign hospital.

"Umm, what happened, why am I even in the hospital Sasuke-sama?" the little Hyuuga heiress asked her mentor formally.

Between Naruto and Sasuke they had no trouble explaining the situation.

"So we beat down the guys that took you and then headed to meet up with Hiashi and Tsunade," Naruto finished the story exuberantly, he was glad he had someone to tell that hadn't actually been there. More people had to hear about how awesome he was.

"Speaking of which -," a voice that they recognized as Neji's sounded out from behind the curtain, "how is my uncle? Was this Kimimaro really such a great threat?"

Neither Naruto or Sasuke had realized that the person behind the curtain had been awake, let alone Neji. The blonde leaned back from his position on Hanabi's bed and swept the curtain aside to reveal the pale Hyuuga.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, "Tsunade and Hiashi were both able to handle him."

"He took a serious beating, but he looked pretty deadly," Naruto added.

"Naturally, he was a shinobi," Neji said matter of factly.

"Anyway, how are you holding up?" the blunt blonde said, gesturing toward the teen's bandaged arm.

"I'm not sure," Neji said somberly as he looked down at the hand now missing two fingers, "It'll be a while before I know how much damage has been done. There was a doctor in here just before you guys got here and Hanabi woke up. Said they couldn't do much but clean the wound, stitch up what was there and bandage it. They're not sure how much chakra control I'll have in that hand anymore,"

The Hyuuga prodigy looked torn. He might have just lost the ability to use Jyuuken in one of his hands, but he wasn't about to give up hope. Right, hope. The concept of hope was rather new to him. But ever since being told the truth about his father he had hope for his future, and for the future of his clan. He wasn't about to let this injury stop him from fulfilling his dreams.

Naruto and Sasuke just let Neji sit and think. Losing two fingers was a big deal as a shinobi, especially when you relied on your hands so much. But Neji was strong; he'd pull through this.

It would be a good example for the rest of the genin of Konoha though. That the world wasn't all rainbows and lollipops, that there was serious danger present and that they couldn't be idling in their training. They all needed to get stronger.

"See ya around Neji," Naruto said quietly, snapping the boy from his stupor. The hospital staff would probably be pretty pissed if they found them here at this hour of the morning, so he figured that they should probably go. Looking over at Sasuke the black haired boy nodded, it was evident he was thinking the same thing.

Sasuke turned to his mentee before they left, "Get some rest, you've got some training to do if we want to beat Naruto and Sakura's students."

"Hai, Sasuke-sama," the little girl said enthusiastically as she hopped back into bed. Even if it was sleeping; if it was an order from Sasuke then she was okay with it.

"Pfft, whatever teme, my minion is going to blow yours out of the water," Naruto said with a laugh, despite Hanabi being right there.

"Minion?"

"What else would I call him?"

"I dunno dumb ass, maybe student?" Sasuke sighed. His friend was smart and talented, but man he was weird. But then again, most ninja were. They'd been taking lessons from the master of weird, Jiraiya of the Sannin, so it was only natural.

"Nah, minion sounds way coole-," and with that they were gone, leaving Hanabi alone to think about the days ahead and Neji to think about exactly what he'd do about his injury.

For so long everything in Konoha had seemed calm to the young Hyuuga. And then the chunin exams came and his world had been turned upside down.

* * *

**Things are starting to get interesting! Anyway on to question and answer time!**

Suikofan: Considering I'm not entirely sure what Tobimaru's Eternal Darkness Jutsu is you may want to be a little more specific. PM me explaining or linking it to me, because I can't seem to find anything on google and if I think she'd learn it and get's the chance to learn it then she will. :)

Anon69: Naruto won't have a harem, although that doesn't mean other characters won't. I think it's pretty obvious by now who will be getting the sweet sweet love of all the women.

MasterWarden: Yeah I know the pacing is a bit touch and go. It's been getting better and it is better in my other story, thanks to my awesome beta, who, although observant people already know who it is, shall go unnamed until this story is finished. Glad you like it.

Icarus Wax Wings: I probably (definitely) should have had more relationship building between Karin and Naruto and my revised version probably will have more of it when I go back and add scenes when I've finished this story. I just kind of wanted to jump ahead though and get through the plot. I myself was incredibly keen to write the finals so that was why it seemed rushed. I can be impatient at the worst of times :P.

Hanabi's Biggest Fan: Thanks for the praise man, means a lot. Hanabi and the Hyuugas will be involved in the story more as it progresses. I like the Hyuuga clan and Hanabi is an awesome character. Then again so are Neji and Hinata. They all bring something else to the table, Hinata especially since she's now got a vendetta against Karin almost. Most of the stuff you discussed in your awesome review has yet to come to pass obviously. What happens to Tayuya and more interactions between the Konoha 13 and the mentees will be discussed next chapter. Expect a showdown between the mentees either next chapter or the chapter after. :)

**Thanks to everyone else who reviewed, I hope this story keeps growing in popularity the way it has been because it's great to know people like reading what I write :)**

**Have a good one guys, and if you haven't read my other story you should go do that :P It only has three chapters so it shouldn't take long.**

**Also now that I have two stories I'm going to try my best to alternate between the two. Shinobi Son Gohan might get double updates in order to get it up to speed, not sure yet. But I am trying to keep this updated more regularly now.**

**Anyway thanks for being awesome guys, catch ya next time.**


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